Magic of the Soul
by shieldliger001
Summary: For Elijah, life was simple. He go to school and dream about the future. That ended when an accident sent him spiraling into the world of the supernatural. He chases the past and wants to gain the power to destroy those who ruined his life, even if it means going down a dark path. Only time will tell what he chooses. Hopefully he can be pulled back to the light.
1. Chapter 1

Alright guys! Shield here with the first chapter of my new Bleach fanfiction. This is the first time I have ever created a story in the Bleach fandom, so please don't hate me too much if I make a few mistakes along the way. On another note, This will not be an AU fic. If I were to place it in a category, it would be more like a filler arc from the anime. This story in particular will be set during the same time that Uryu is training to regain his Quincy powers after the Soul Society arc. Due to some creative license, some events may be slightly pushed back as to make the story flow better. However, I would like for it to be as close to canon as possible. Finally, this is the first time I have ever tried to write canon characters. I deal mostly in OC characters so please don't hate me too much if the characters seem too OC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is a manga and anime adaption created by Tite Kubo. All canon characters, canon events, and canon places belong to him.

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 **Editors are more concerned with the first chapters of a book; that's what everyone reads first in the bookstore or in the online sample.**

 **Mary Roach**

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 **Chapter 1**

A wise man once said that every man has a story that needs to be told. He said that if a man didn't tell his story, than that man would be forgotten. As I lay here, in this cell built from Sekkiseki rock, I write the account of my life, my story. My success and my folly. Because, I don't want anymore young ones to take the dark path. It only ends in heartache. This is my story. This is my end.

The blaring of my alarm cut through my sleeping like a hot knife. Rising slowly from my bed I glimpsed at the clock. It was six o'clock.

"Six in the morning comes too early." I mumbled as I climbed out of my bed.

I slowly trudged to my closet and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts. I looked at them and sighed. I always seemed to pull out the same colors; black gym shorts with red stripes on the sides and a dark blue shirt. I donned the clothing and looked into the mirror hang from my closet door. I was a little short for being eighteen. I was only 5' 7". My dark mahogany hair was short, but messy. The poor light made my skin seem dark when, in reality, it was pale. Most people said me and my sister looked similar, though her skin is darker, she is several inches shorter, and she looked slightly oriental. She got both of those features from our mother. I sighed again and left my room. I just wasn't a morning person.

Walking down the stairs, I smelled the aroma of sizzling bacon and eggs. My mouthed began to water as I got closer to the kitchen. There is nothing better in the world than eggs and bacon.

"Elijah, it's about time you got up. The bus will be here in ten minutes." Christa, my younger sister, said.

"You need to stay after today. A scout for the University of San Antonio is going to be there for a couple of hours after school." my mom reminded.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a plate. My mom placed a couple of eggs and some bacon on the plate. I instantly sat down and began eating. I quickly devoured my breakfast and ran for the door, grabbing my backpack on the way out. Christa followed closely behind.

"Oh, crap! I left my binder in my room! I'm going to go get it!" Christa said before running back toward the house.

"Whatever, just hurry up. You know that Rob doesn't tolerate people being late." I warned. I pulled out my phone and plugged in my earbuds.

It happened in an instant. One minute I was waiting for the bus, the next I was on the ground, vision fading to black. I don't know how long I was unconscious, but when I came to, there was fire everywhere. I blinked several times but the fire remained. I sat up, but, strangely I felt no pain. I shakily got to my feet and looked around.

"Mom, Dad, Christa!" I screamed.

The house was on fire, remains of the bus littered the front yard while the burning hulk of the bus stuck out of the hole it had created in my house.

I ran toward the wreckage, hoping beyond hope that my family was alright. As I ran, something pulled at my chest. I looked down and saw a chain connected to it. Out of a mix of curiosity and terror, I followed the chain with my eyes. There, about twenty feet away, was another me! I tiptoed closer and found that the chain was attached in the same place on the other me as well.

"Christa! Elijah! Where are you?" the voice of my mother called.

I jumped and sprinted toward the voice, forgetting about the strange chain connecting me to other me. "Mom! Mom! Are you ok?"

"Elijah! Oh thank God that you are alright. Where is your sister? Is she alright?" Mom asked frantically. I barely noticed that she was now wearing white robes, instead of the clothes she had earlier.

"I don't know. She ran to her room to get her binder." I explained.

"Christa! Where are you, Christa!" Mom screeched as she stood outside our burning house.

I tried to go into the flames, but the chain restricted me from entering. I was crying now. I was useless, unable to find sister or father. I called out as well as my mother, but we did not receive a reply.

"I'm here, Elijah." I heard a weak voice answer.

I searched around and saw Christa, her legs caught under a part of the bus. I ran to her and knelt down. Her eyes were closed as she wasn't responding to me. That's when I noticed a chain attached her chest, similar to the one I had. I followed it with my gaze and found another Christa staring down at me in horror.

"Elijah, I think we… we are dead." Christa muttered as she backed away from the other her.

"We can't be dead. I have so many things left to do!" I started quietly, but gradually began to yell.

"Mom, where is Dad?" Christa quietly asked.

"He went to work just before you two got up." she replied, shell shocked. Christa began to cry louder.

"So what do we do? If we are all dead then do we haunt the place until the end of time?" I asked.

"No, you will not. For one thing, you and the girl are not dead, yet. Your mother's chain of fate is broken. She is dead." a voice said.

I spun around to see a tall figure dressed in a black kimono. The man wore a white undergarment which was barely visible around the neck. There was what looked like a katana tucked away in the man's obi sash. The man had pale skin with short black hair.

"Who are you and what do you mean?" I yelled standing between the man and my mother and sister.

"Americans, you and the Europeans can be the worst when trying to pass on. Always asking questions and never just going in peace." the man said with a sigh. "Very well, I am Kai Saido. I am a Shinigami. In your tongue, a Soul Reaper."

"What are Soul Reapers?" Christa asked nervously.

"I really don't want to answer anymore questions. If you would please move out of the way and let me do my job."

"And what would that be?" I demanded.

"Taking your mother's soul far away from here before something bad happens. Now move aside."

"I won't let you take her!" I yelled charging at the man. Mom and Christa yelled for me to stop.

"I figured as much. Bakudo number eight: seki!" the Soul Reaper yelled.

A blue orb formed just in front of the Soul Reaper. As I ran, I got ready for a tackle. I dove for him only to be sent flying back. The blow made me feel like I had been hit by a train, but I still tried to get to my feet.

"Ok kid, just stay down. Bakudo number one: Sai." Kai said simply, pointing his index and middle finger at me.

My arms simply locked up behind my back. I couldn't move them at all. I struggled but it felt like I had handcuffs on. I struggled to get to my feet, but it was too late. The Soul Reaper unsheathed his sword and knelt down. He placed the hilt of his blade on my mother's forehead. She began to glow a bright white light. When the light faded, my mother was gone, however a black and red butterfly quickly fluttered away. The Soul Reaper stared at me then vanished.

The paramedics and fire fighters appeared several minutes later. They immediately ran to my body and began to resuscitate me. I gave off a loud scream of anger. My mother was gone, yet I would still live.

"Would you like a chance to bring your mother back?" a deep voice asked from behind me. I spun around to see a gigantic black form.

"Wh-who are you? W-what are you?" I asked, fear seizing my heart.

"I am the one who will show you the way to bring your mother back. In order for you to achieve this, you must gain power."

"How do I do that? How do I get my mother back!" I yelled.

"I will begin by giving you a gift. However, you must learn to use it." the black form replied.

An arm-like appendage shot from the form and stabbed through the spot where the chain met my chest. The black appendage began to glow a dark purple. The black form began to be sucked into me! Soon all that was left was the appendage sticking out of my chest. The appendage began to change forms. The first three quarters of the appendage became a thin, steel blade. The last quarter became a hilt and guard.

'A sword?' I thought as everything once again faded to black.

 **Third Person POV**

"Home front, this is Grim Reaper. The primary objective has already fallen into enemy hands. Secondary objective has been completed. I repeat, the sword is with the master." a man in a blue car said into a radio as he watched the disaster that had unfolded.

"Roger that Reaper. Return to Home front. We will depart for Japan in eighteen hours."

"Roger, I am en route to the exfil point." the man replied as he started up the car.

 **Christa's POV**

'The hospital. I'm at the hospital. Was everything I saw a dream?' I thought as the gurney I was on was pushed through the ER.

"Where is my brother?" I asked weakly.

"Doctor, the patient is awake." a nurse said.

"Miss, can you tell me your name and age?" the doctor asked as we pulled into a room.

"I'm Christa Parker. I'm fifteen years old." I muttered. "What happened?"

"A bus lost control and ran into your house. It exploded." the doctor replied.

"What about my brother and mom?"

"Your brother is in critical condition, but it looks like he will be ok. Your mother however… I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do for her."

"No! She can't be dead!" I cried. I began to struggle as a torrent of emotions flooded my mind.

"Nurse, sedate her! We need her to calm down!" the doctor shouted urgently.

I don't remember much after that. I felt something cold press into my neck. The coldness spread into my neck. Seconds later, I began to feel groggy. Afterwards, I fell into a deep sleep.

 **Elijah's POV**

"You will learn to wield the power I have given you. But first, you must learn how to access your power. You will not learn that here. You must go to sacred hill in the island nation. The hill is located near a town named Karakura. There you will find the key to summoning the power I have given you." the voice whispered.

I woke up in a hospital room. A nurse stood watch, but quickly left when I awoke. She returned with a doctor. Ignoring me, the doctor began checking my vitals.

"Son, you are very lucky to be alive." the doctor smiled, finally paying me some heed.

"Where is my sister?" I asked.

"She is in a room a couple of doors down. Your father is in there as well."

"My dad is alright?" I asked.

"Yes. He was not in the house when the accident happened."

"Can I see my dad and sister?" I asked hopefully.

"Your sister suffered two broken legs and a concussion. Sh won't be able to move for several weeks at the least. I can't let you leave this room because you have several cracked ribs, a broken arm, and a mild concussion as well, but I can tell father you want to see him." the doctor suggested.

"Thanks. That would be great." I replied. The doctor nodded and left. It didn't take long to see my father's face peeking through the door.

"Elijah, how you feelin?" my dad asked.

"Like an elephant was dancing on my chest." I replied with a smile.

"Well, you just rest now. Don't do anything stupid." my dad smiled sadly.

As soon as he left my smile vanished. I pulled out the IV line and slowly stood up. To my surprise, I didn't feel any pain. I looked at my body and found that I didn't have any bruises or cuts. In fact, I felt stronger than I had every felt!

I snuck to the door and peeked through the window. There wasn't a soul in sight. I reached for the door knob and quietly opened the door. I slipped through the door snuck through the hallway. I looked through the door windows, searching for my sister's room. It didn't take long to find it. I quietly slipped in and stared at my sister. She was badly bruised. Both of her legs were in casts. She looked outright miserable.

"What are you doing up?" Christa asked out of alarm.

"I just had to see how you were doing," I started, "I have to go someplace, but first I had to make sure you were alright."

"Both of my legs were crushed. They say that I might not ever walk again." Christa said quietly. "Where are you going? What about school? What… what about Mom's funeral?" Christa added quietly.

"Christa, what I'm about to do, will completely destroy the need for a funeral. That I promise." I walked toward the window of her room. The sky was darkening as the day gave way to night. "Do you remember that man in black?"

"You saw him too? I thought I was dreaming." Christa gasped.

"I saw him as well. Anyways, I have a way to bring Mom back." I said, not sure if Christa would believe me.

"I don't think you should go. What you are sayings is insane. But, I can't stop you. I never have been able to whenever you set your mind to something."

"So you don't think I'm crazy?" I asked skeptically.

"I don't know what to think honestly."

"Alright, I'm going to get out of here before someone figures out that I'm gone." I chuckled.

"I love you Elijah. Be safe." Christa said, tears starting to roll down her cheek.

"Tell Dad I said bye." I said before opening the window and climbing out onto the ledge.

I tediously climbed down from the ledge and made it to the ground. Climbing down a ten story building is not something I recommend, even if I was only on the second floor.

I ran as fast as I could to my house. I prayed that there was at least something left that I could put on. The hospital was only two blocks from my house, but still. Some random guy running through town in a medical gown would catch someone's attention.

The house was in better shape than I would have guessed. The yard was taped off with police tape and the bus wreckage had been removed. I climbed through the hole and headed toward the back of the house.

The back of the house was almost completely untouched by the bus or the fire. I was relieved that my room escaped completely unscathed. I smiled and quickly grabbed the things I would need. I began to leave the house, but looked back one last time.

"I will get you back, Mom." I vowed.

 **Christa's POV**

"Your brother did what?" Dad asked out of exasperation.

"He left. He came in here, told me he was leaving, and left." I repeated.

"That boy… No, forget it." Dad said, shaking his head.

"Dad, when I am better, we need to go after him. I am scared that he will get hurt." I pleaded.

"No, he needs to cope with what has happened. He is eighteen. School is out in a couple of months. There really isn't much we can do." Dad replied.

"But Dad!" I yelled.

"No, Christa. There are other things we have to deal with… Like your Mother's funeral arrangements."

 **Elijah's POV**

I did a little research on the "Island Nation" while I drove to the airport. I figured that my destination would be Japan. It only made sense since the Soul Reaper was dressed in a very Japanese manner.

I was glad to be back on land. The flight was uneventful and since I didn't have WiFi fifteen thousand feet in the air, I couldn't do any research on the place I was heading. In fact all I really knew was that I had to go to some city call Karakura Town a suburb to Tokyo. I figured that it wouldn't be a big deal since I still had my phone and its data.

Despite being in a foreign country, Japan was fairly easy to navigate. Most of the signs were in Japanese but they also had English phrases to tell me where to go. I found my way to a hotel and quickly paid for a room using some money I had exchanged at an ATM. I quickly went to my room, took a quick shower, then went to bed.

"You have come. That is good. Now we can begin." the deep voice said.

"You said you could help me get my mother back. Of course I would come." I replied.

Staring into the nothingness that was my dream world, I saw the memories of my mother. They were distant, almost too small to be noticed, but they were warm.

"When you awake, go to the sacred hill. There, you will be given control of the power you now possess." the voice spoke.

"What's your name?" I asked.

The voice laughed then said, "All in due time. First, you must gain control over the power I have given you."

I jolted from my sleep. Sweat covered my body, making me very uncomfortable. I got up and went to the bathroom to clean up. I looked into the mirror and saw that my eyes were a slightly different color! Instead of deep blue, they had taken on a slight red tint. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming, but that didn't help at all. Deciding to worry about it later, I went back to bed.

The next morning, I went straight to the front desk to check out. The sun was just coming up so most of the city was still quiet. I began walking toward the outskirts of town where I surmised the sacred hill would be. I did a little research on the area while I walked, finding that I had indeed guessed correctly. There was a single shrine in the area that was housed on a hill. Needless to say, I was feeling quite lucky.

The top of the hill held an old shrine of some sort. The area was fenced off with a large wrought iron fence. The shrine had to be at least a thousand years old, but it still stood proudly. The building was purely traditional Japanese architecture unlike most of the buildings in the city which were more modern.

I walked up to the fence and easily climbed over. Once on the other side, I made my way to the building's entrance. The door was covered with beautiful carvings. I pushed the door open and walked inside. To my surprise, there were no monks. In fact, it looked as though nobody had been there for quite some time.

I continued to go deeper into the shrine and soon came upon a table in the very center of the room. On it was a sword rack with a single Katana on it. I recognized it immediately as the same sword that had stabbed through me. It's charcoal black sheath glistened in the early light. The guard was shaped like a rhombus with intricate details carved on it. The hilt was wrapped with blue and black cord. In all, it was a beautiful sword.

I slowly extended my hand to touch it. My hand rested on the hilt. I gently picked it up and pulled off the sheath. The blade was spotless.

"Well, I'm here. Now what?" I said thinking out loud.

Suddenly the sword flashed brightly. I covered my eyes with my other arm. I heard a solid thump while my eyes were covered. The bright flash faded leaving me standing in the dimly lit shrine. I looked down and found myself in the same attire as the Soul Reaper.

"What happened to me?" I yelled out of shock, especially when I saw my body lying on the ground.

"You have gained the powers of a Soul Reaper. You now have the power you need, but you need to learn to use it and to refine it. There is a man in Karakura Town who will be able to help you, however, you will have to find him. He and his friends are no longer apart of the Soul Society. However be wary. They are not friends nor are they foes. When the time comes, they will betray you. There will be challenges ahead. There will be those who will want to stop you from attaining your goal. If you learn to fight, then you will never lose. With me you will be unstoppable." the voice spoke.

I turned to see the shrouded figure in front of the door. He seemed more human this time with an actual body. He had on thin robes, similar to the ones I now wore. The main difference was that he had a hood that covered his face.

"I don't understand. How did I become like this? What am I going to do with my body?"

"I am the spirit of your sword. I am what is called a Zanpakuto. When we first met, I gave you the powers of the Soul Reaper that came before you. All you had to do was find a way to activate those abilities; hence the reason you are here. You can enter your body freely. However, to leave your body, you must have outside help."

"Meaning I have to stay like this until I find a way to get back out of my body."

"Yes." my Zanpakuto replied.

 **Christa's POV**

Dad went into the bathroom of my hospital room and closed the door. I didn't think much of it so I continued to watch the TV; that is until I heard him talking. I muted the TV, curious about what he was saying.

"Look, Ryuken, I know for a fact that Elijah went to Japan. His debt card was charged by an airline and there was a currency exchange at the airport. He is already there. I think when he was in critical condition yesterday that he met someone. Look, this may seem strange, but I think he was affected by Ken no Dorobo. Yes I'm serious! According to Christa, Elijah came in and was completely healed. She said he didn't have a scratch on him. What other possibility could there be? What? Uryu's friend became a Soul Reaper? I guess we are living in a strange time. Please keep an eye out for him. Thanks." Dad hung up the phone and came out.

"So, Soul Reapers do exist." I said abruptly.

"Where did you hear that from?" Dad asked.

"Elijah and I saw one yesterday. He was the one that took Mom away from us." I replied.

"Christa, there is something I need to tell you." Dad sighed, "Your mother and I didn't meet at a grocery store in Idaho. We met when she refused to send me to the soul society. When I met your mother, I was dead."

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"You see, I am called a Quincy. Basically, I am type of human that can see spiritual beings such as hollows and Soul Reapers. When I was about twenty-five I went on a hollow killing spree that caused the Soul Reapers to intervene. You see, the Soul Reapers and Quincy are enemies."

"Why are Soul Reapers and Quincy enemies?" I asked.

"Soul Reapers and Quincy have the same goal. We protect wholes from hollows. Hollows are fearsome creatures that started out as regular souls or wholes. If a whole lingers on Earth too long, they transform into hollows. Hollows devour wholes and even weaker hollows in order to fill the hole that was their heart. Soul Reapers use their swords to cleanse hollows so that they can go to the Soul Society. Quincy, however, believed in completely eradicating hollows. Because of this, the Quincy, for the most part had to be eliminated."

"Why? These hollows sound dangerous." I asked, my father's explanation making more question than answering them.

"Hollows were once wholes. The souls in the Soul Society and the souls here are balanced equally. The Quincy were causing that balance to be destroyed. If that happened then it would have meant the apocalypse. Anyways, I was a young Quincy and wanted to prove myself to my master. I went out and with some bait and killed several hollows. The Soul Reaper in charge of the town came to stop me. He and I fought for several hours, but he eventually got the upper hand. He killed me right on the spot. Of course I wasn't ready to die yet so instead of going to the Soul Society, I stayed on Earth.

Months went by and I wandered the town. No one could see or hear me, and I was constantly attacked by hollows. Your mother became the Soul Reaper in charge of the town and she found me. At first, we hated each other. She kept trying perform konso on me. As time went on, we fell in love. Your mother ordered two custom gigai for us, and we sealed away our powers. We became human again. Of course the Soul Society was not thrilled at this, but they consented."

"So what does this all have to do with Elijah?"

"I think your mother's Zanpakuto was drawn to him. Despite the fact that we sealed away our spirit pressure, the fact that we both had it meant that both of you would have immense spirit pressure. So we sealed away both you and your brother's spirit pressure as well. However, since you both were close to death and your mother's gigai did die, the seals were broken. Your mother's Zanpakuto went to the one who most closely resembled your mother."

"Why wouldn't it go to mom than?"

"Because, Zanpakuto are just as alive as Soul Reapers. They have emotions and because of that it turned its back on her. It was one of the hardest things for your mother to give up because her Zanpakuto had put up one hell of a fight before being sealed away. Your mother had the rare ability to actually manifest her Zanpakuto. It went to someone who would use the power it possessed."

"So does that mean that Elijah is a Soul Reaper now?"

"Yes, most likely."

"What about me?"

"Christa, the way we sealed our spirit pressure will make your brother a pure Soul Reaper, while you will be a pure Quincy." Dad answered.

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So I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter of my first bleach fanfic. I really hope it wasn't too awful. There really isn't much for me to say this time aside from I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope y'all had fun reading it. If y'all liked the chapter, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button. If you have anything to say, be sure to leave a review or PM me. That's all for now, this is shieldliger001 signing off!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys welcome to the second chapter of Magic of the Soul! I think that this chapter came out very well, especially since there is are actually Bleach characters in this chapter! I hope I didn't make them too OOC. I'll let y'all be the judges. Lol. One last thing before we start, I noticed that when I was writing OMAA, that I didn't do a very good job keeping the time. To be honest, I couldn't tell you if everything happened in a month or if it happened in a year. To remedy this, I will be adding how long it has been since Elijah unsealed his powers. I have dubbed this the Awakening. Anyways, there haven't been any reviews as of yet so let jump straight into the story!

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 **One doesn't become a soldier in a week - it takes training, study and discipline. There is no question that the finest Army in the world is found in the United States.**

 **Daniel Inouye**

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 **Chapter 2**

 **Elijah's POV**

 **(1 day since Awakening)**

I carried my body from the shrine. The last thing I needed was for my body to be inaccessible in a hospital somewhere. I made it back to town and wandered from alley to alley. I walked for some time, but managed to keep out of sight. After all, it would seem strange if someone saw an unconscious body being dragged by an invisible force.

"Well, it's not every day that ya see a shinigami dragging his gigia around in the alleys. It's quite humorous actually." a young man said from behind me.

I spun around to see a tall, blond haired man standing in the alley entrance. He wore a tan ascot hat, a yellow collared shirt, and khaki pants. His brown eyes studied me, and his mouth curved upwards a little showing his perfectly white teeth.

"Who are you?" I asked placing my body on the ground and drawing my sword.

"Oh please, ya can't cut me with that flimsy thing. Though, I have to admit that it is an interesting Zanpakuto. I haven't seen one that had a black blade in its sealed state." the strange man replied.

"You haven't answered my question. Who are you?" I asked, my eyes narrowing as the man walked closer.

"Yer walking in my alley, and yer asking me who I am? Sorry, but it doesn't work that way."

"Your alley? What are you talking about? You sleep here or something?" I retorted.

"No, I don't sleep here ya twit. This is the alley that leads to my place." the man frowned.

"I don't care. Just leave me be and I'll be on my way."

"Sorry, but I can't have some weak shinigami telling his superiors where I am."

The man took out a pill and popped it into his mouth. A loud crack resounded through the area as his body fell to the ground. However, he was still standing. I gaped at him for several seconds as he pulled out a sword of his own.

"This isn't personal, mind you. However, I can't let you live. The Soul Society must not ever know our whereabouts."

I took my sword in both hands and readied myself. I had never fought with a sword before, but somehow I felt like I knew what I was doing. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"Ya really don't get it, do ya?" Suddenly, I felt like I weighed a hundred tons. The sudden wait of my body forced me to a single knee. "Interesting, the look on yer face tells me that ya have never felt like this before."

"What is going on? What did you do?" I asked frantically.

"Don't ya know? This crushing feeling is the feeling of yer demise. The Soul Society must be slipping." the man said.

"I'm not from the Soul Society." I muttered as I was forced to my hands and knees.

"What? Yer a shinigami; how can ya not be from the Soul Society?" the man looked at me again and smiled. "I see, yer a substitute shinigami. I wonder how ya got past our watch. We have been looking out for souls like ya. Tell me, are ya friends with Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"No, I don't even know who that is."

"That's a shame. He was the one that we were watching. Ya remind me of him." he said as he placed his sword back in its sheath. "Come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere." I shouted.

"I figured that you were smart. I guess not."

My grip tightened around the hilt of my Zanpakuto. The man only sighed and shook his head. Then, he disappeared. I looked everywhere but didn't see him anywhere.

"Try looking in front of ya."

I snapped my head around to find the man staring directly into my eyes. I swung my vertically in order to cut into his side. To my surprise, he didn't even flinch. In fact, the blade didn't even cut his skin.

"Let me show ya the difference between you and me."

I didn't see it coming. I didn't even see him pull out his blade. The only thing I saw was a flash as the upper half of my blade went spinning into the air.

"What did you do? I didn't see a thing." I mumbled as I stared at my sword.

"Come, we have much to talk about." he said as he turned and headed toward a large warehouse. I stood back for extra seconds, unable to decide what to do. "Come on. Wouldn't want me to kick your butt in gear. You'd probably reach the moon."

 **Christa's POV**

"How are you feeling?" my dad asked as he sat next to my bed.

"Fine, I guess." I replied. "Did you find anything out about Elijah?"

Dad shook his head. "No, but that doesn't mean much considering."

"Oh, I hope he is ok. I wonder what he is feeling right now."

Dad smiled as he stood up. He paced around the room a few times, obviously thinking deeply about something. He looked at me than began shaking his head.

"Christa, I want know exactly what your brother said to you. Did he mention why he was leaving?"

"Yeah, he said that he was going to bring Mom back." I replied.

"That's what I was afraid of. Christa, I'm going to fill out the forms to get you discharged. I have something that you need to see."

 **Elijah's POV**

"The name is Shinji Hirako, by the way." the man said as he casually walked through the seemingly abandoned factory.

"Elijah Parks." I replied. I was still angry about what Shinji had done to my Zanpakuto.

"American huh. It's rare to find an American that can see spirits, but it's even more rare to have an American shinigami." Shinji commented.

"Shut up." I muttered.

"I wasn't making fun. I was just stating a fact. The jureichi hasn't been in America for over three hundred years."

"Dude, I don't know what the crap that is. Heck, I don't even know how to get in and out of my body!" I yelled.

"All in due time. Wait here, while I get the others." Shinji left me alone in the warehouse while he descended down a hidden staircase in the floor. Knowing that the man had easily destroyed my sword, I did as I was told.

"Hey you! What is a stupid shinigami doing here?" someone from behind me yelled.

I turned to see a blond girl about Christa's age standing a few feet away. She was dressed in a red jogging suit and a white t-shirt. Her hair was held up in pigtails. The one thing I noticed the most however was the single canine that poked through the her lips.

"Who are you?" I asked, stunned by the sudden appearance of the girl.

"What are you, a parrot; dumb ass?"

"Hiyori, calm down. I let him come. He won't be a problem, and he won't be causing any trouble."

"Shinji, you dumb ass, you can't bring shinigami in here! The Soul Society will be coming as soon as that idiot leaves here!" Hiyori yelled out of frustration.

"Like I said he won't be a problem. I guess those large ears don't help you hear." Shinji quipped, though, all he got for his effort was a sandal thrown at his face.

"I don't have large ears, ya dumb ass! You shouldn't be taking the chance!"

"So you hate the soul reapers too, huh. I guess that this is the place that the shadow man told me about."

"Who is the shadow man, dumb ass? And they're not called soul reapers they are called shinigami!" Hiyori said gruffly.

"I think he's my sword, and I don't care what they are called, but I guess I'll keep calling them soul reapers if it is going to tick you off." I replied with a smirk.

"Why you! You are so weak it's laughable! You shouldn't be able to imprint on your Zanpakuto! How could you have seen your manifested Zanpakuto?" a fuming Hiyori shot back. All I could do was shrug.

"See, Hiyori? He is interesting to say the least."

"Shut up ya idiot!" Hiyori huffed as she marched down the staircase.

"Come on, Elijah. The others are waiting to meet you." Shinji said as he followed Hiyori's lead.

 **Christa's POV**

"Dad, where are we going?" I asked as we drove from the hospital. Both my legs were still in casts and my head was still wrapped up.

"I have a friend that is going to meet us at the cabin." Dad answered cryptically.

"We haven't been there in like five years. Why would we meet somebody there? And, how am I going to get up those stairs?"

"I can help you up the stairs Christa. I am your father after all." Dad replied, completely ignoring my first question.

"Who are we meeting at the cabin, Dad." I pushed one more time.

Dad sighed and shot me a quick glance. "Your new teacher, Christa. We are meeting your new teacher."

"What are you talking about?"

"You are going to bring your brother back. He must not be allowed to go to the Soul Society." Dad replied. "My friend and I are going to train you to be a Quincy."

"But Dad! I can't train! I have two broken legs and three contusions! Not to mention a concussion!"

"Christa, those wounds will be nothing in a little while. You will forget that you ever had them."

I gaped at my father. I couldn't think of anything to say. My world had been turned upside down and there was no way for me to argue any point my father made because I lacked the knowledge that he had. All I could do was sigh and stare out the window.

 **Elijah's POV**

They stared at me like I was some sort of freak. The eight of them were just staring. I shuffled slightly feeling as though I would be crushed by their stares.

"You think he could be an asset? He is extremely weak. He I can barely sense anything from him." a woman in a sailor outfit with black hair and glass said with a snort.

"Everyone, I know that he may not look it, but I think he has potential. We all started out weak. We all started from the bottom and worked our way up. He is no different. Come on, when have I ever been wrong?" Shinji said with a small smirk.

"All the damn time, ya dumb ass." Hiyori yelled. Shinji's smirk turned into a small frown.

"Guys, he is a substitute shinigami, like Kurosaki. Ya know what that could mean?"

"You could be right Shinji. I think he should stay." a man in a blue jogging suit and sunglasses said. Slowly, all but Hiyori agreed.

"I don't know whether to be scared or happy." I muttered.

"It doesn't matter what you feel, kid." another man in a tank top replied.

"Elijah, these are my friends. Kensei Muguruma, Mashiro Kuna, Love Aikawa, Rose Otoribashi, Hachigen Ushoda, and Lisa Yadomaru. Ya already know me and Hiyori. We are the Vizard."

"I'm Elijah Parks. Just your average high schooler that just turned into a ghost, has a sword, and apparently has super powers as well." I said sarcastically, mostly to piss off Hiyori.

She took the bait and started to charge at me. The muscular man, Kensei, and the man with the shades and strange hair, Love, held her back as she shouted random curses at me.

"Hachi, I need ya to go out and capture some low level hollows for me. Elijah, we are going to begin your training." Shinji said.

"Yes, Shinji, but are you sure this is wise? The boy does not know how to fight." Hachi said as he began to leave.

"I believe it is best for everyone to learn as they go. It helps develop creativity." Shinji replied with a slight smile. "Alright, Elijah, Lisa and Kensei are going to show ya the basics for a few minutes. I would pay attention if I were you."

"Thanks Shinji, I owe you one." I said graciously.

"Trust me, I'll be using the favor soon." he chuckled as he sat on a small pile of rocks.

"Ok, kid. I don't know how you do things in the States, but I can guarantee that you have never had anything like this. Draw your Zanpakuto." Kensei said.

"But my sword is broken! Shinji made sure of that."

"I said to draw it! If you want to get strong; scratch that, if you want to survive out there than you will do as I say!" the man yelled. I shuddered and quickly unsheathed my broken blade. "Good, now, you see Lisa over there?"

"The one with glasses, reading a, uh, magazine?" I asked, not wanting to see what she was actually reading.

"Yes, your first task is to slash her magazine. You do that, you are well on the way to knowing how to survive."

"I don't think that is a good idea." I muttered. I began to say more but Kensei's gritted teeth and smoldering eyes told me to forget what I had planned to say.

 **Kensei's POV**

"You realize that you just put the kid to death, right?" Love said as he watched Elijah begin to shuffle over toward Lisa.

"Maybe so, but it is the one thing Shinji, Urahara, and I agree on. You must learn or die. Survival of the fittest." I replied.

"Ah come on! You're so mean Kensei! Why do you have to be so mean to him, you grouch!"

"Mashiro, shut up! I am too busy for your incessant stupidity!" I growled.

"Ah poo. You meanie! Why can't you lighten up?"

"Mashiro!" I growled louder this time. I was about to say something else, but something flew into me, knocking me to the ground.

"That's what you get for trashing my magazine, ya freak!" she yelled. That's when I realized that it was Elijah who had hit me. "Kensei! You will pay dearly for this. I swear that I will put you six feet under!"

"Lisa, calm down. I know what I was doing. I already got you a replacement." I replied pulling a new magazine from my back pocket.

Lisa, who had bent over me the entire time she had been yelling, straightened up after swiping the magazine from me. "Well at least you did that right." she turned away and sat back in the lawn chair she was in earlier. "Oh, kid. That was pretty sneaky of you. Do it again and I will kill you."

"I understand." I heard Elijah mutter faintly.

"Well kid, I guess you manage to do what I asked.

"You people are nuts." Elijah replied.

 **Christa's POV**

"You wait here will I go see if Ryuken is here. He should be, the man is never late." Dad muttered as he climbed out of the truck.

"Gee, it's not like I can walk or anything." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Very funny."

"Your daughter is quick witted. More than can say about you, Conrad, or should I call you Conner?"

"You know that I left all of that behind, my name included, Ryuken." Dad replied as he turned to face the man.

The man was about average height with white hair. He seemed to be about the same age as my dad which was around forty. He wore a light gray suit with a blue tie and a pair of rimless glasses. The tie looked to have some kind of cross on it that I couldn't name. Despite the man's sudden appearance, there was only one question on my mind.

"Your real name is Conrad? Why did you change it?" I asked completely shocked.

"In marrying your mother, your father gave up his name, powers, and the ability to pass down the heritage of the Quincy. Of course, the last one he wants my help in reversing."

"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked irately.

"Your mother's real name was Aina not Ana." Dad muttered uncomfortably.

"Is my last name even Parks?" I demanded. Dad smile apologetically. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know it is a lot to take in and I will tell you everything, but first we must bring your brother home safely."

"Alright, what do I need to do?" I sighed.

 **Elijah's POV**

"You knew that she would try to kill me, didn't you?" I yelled.

Kensei didn't even flinch. That was the most annoying part. Anyone who had seen me get angry for the first time usually flinched, except for my parents. I continued to yell for a little bit, but I quickly grew tired. That struck me as odd because when I yelled and screamed I normally could go on for hours. Soon I grew so tired that I had to stop and catch my breathe. Even though I had stopped yelling, breathing was still hard; if anything, it was getting harder. I fell to my knees and tried to suck in as much air as I could. Something was wrong, it was almost like I was breathing in a room where the air was escaping. My body began to feel like lead, causing me to collapse into a heap. I gasped, trying to suck in as much air as I could, but it was like a carrot on a stick. It was there, but I couldn't reach it.

"Are you done yet?" Kensei asked, his voice having no emotion in it whatsoever. His stoic expression made him impossible to read.

"What… did you… do?" I gasped. "I can't… breathe."

"The reason you can't breathe is simple. My spiritual pressure is having a physical toll on your body. Now shut up and listen. The only reason you are here is because Shinji thinks you have potential. He wants me to teach you because I am the best Zanjutsu expert here."

"Then… why did you...guh!" I began but a sudden spike slammed my body into the ground.

"Don't interrupt me you idiot!" Kensei yelled. He quickly regained his composure and looked me straight in the eyes. "I teach by one single philosophy; survival of the fittest. If you can't survive a challenge, you die. It is the best way to teach because it is an all or nothing method. Now, do you think you have what it takes to train under me and the other Vizard, even if it means you may die?"

The pressure lifted allowing me to climb to my feet. "What doesn't kill you makes you strange, right?"

Kensei smirked. "I take that as a yes."

 **Christa's POV**

Dad had gotten the wheelchair out and helped me into it. He then pushed me into the cabin and into the living room. Wood overwhelmed my sight. Like most cabins, wood was the main décor. The walls, ceiling, and floor was all made of polished pine. The chairs and tables were made of wood as well, however they were made out of logs and branches, making them very uncomfortable to sit in even with the light blue cushions that padded on them.

"What are we doing?" I asked curiously.

"We are waiting for Ryuken to finish setting up the unsealing ritual. Though the seal on you has weakened significantly, it hasn't been broken. In order for you to claim your heritage, we must break the seal that your mother and I placed on you." Dad explained. He looked me in the eyes and continued. "Christa, I want you to know right now that when the seal breaks, it will be excruciatingly painful."

"It can't be any more painful than having your legs crushed by a school bus, and told that I may never walk again. I assume that becoming a Quincy will help with that. If it didn't, you wouldn't have asked." I replied as cheerily as I could as a sort of reassurance.

"It will help after the initial release of your spiritual pressure. After that, you will heal like any other human. It is basically the same as what happened to your brother." my Dad confirmed.

"Conrad, I finished the preparations. I still don't know why I am doing this for you. If your son wreaks havoc in the Seireitei, that is your problem. You should have taught your son better." Ryuken said snidely.

"Coming from the man who condemned your son's desire to be a Quincy." Dad scoffed.

"Saving the dead doesn't make you money in this world." Ryuken rebuked coolly

"Maybe he wants to do it because it is the right thing to do." Dad argued.

"As if you are one to talk." Ryuken scoffed before he continued. "Being a Quincy does not give one an education or a job or a..."

"Let's get this ritual started." I interrupted.

"Yes. Let's." Ryuken replied as he shot an icy glare at my father.

Dad wheeled me to the back porch and from there carried me into the woods. I was fine with it since there was no way for us to get the wheelchair through the forest. We walked a little ways from the house and into the small pasture that separated to different woodlands.

"Why couldn't we do this in the house?" I asked as we moved. The constant jostling of my legs made them cry out in pain. The morphine muffled the cries, but I could still feel them calling out.

"If we did the ritual in the house, we would have destroyed it. The reaction that will happen will cause a large implosion of reishi. That reishi will bombard the seal until it breaks. The seal will protect you until it breaks. Because of that, it is critical that we stop the bombardment within seconds. If we don't, your body will be ripped apart." Ryuken explained, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"That just made everything sound a whole lot more dangerous." I muttered.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but that is the name of the game. Going after your brother will be extremely dangerous. There are forces that will seek to control his Zanpakuto. It is very powerful. Some would consider it more powerful than the head captain of the thirteen court guard squads. I don't believe that to be the case, but that doesn't subtract from the threat."

"Are you ready? Unlike you Americans I do not have all day." Ryuken asked impatiently.

"Right, because you actually work hard. We both know that you live to make everyone feel beneath you." Dad jabbed back.

"Guys, I'm ready." I said before Ryuken could respond. Ryuken bit back his next comment and nodded.

"As I so quaintly sugarcoated how this ritual could go wrong, do you still wish to continue?"

"That was sugarcoating it? You basically said that if it went wrong I would die an agonizing death!" I yelled.

"Is that a no?"

"No it's not a no! I am going to get my brother. Nothing you can say or do will stop me from trying!" I yelled at the irritating man.

He smiled conceitedly. "Good, you will need that indomitable spirit if you are going to survive. Conrad, place your daughter in the center of the Zeichen."

"This… this isn't Sprenger, is it?" Dad asked worriedly.

"It is a variant yes, but it does not have nearly any of the power a real Sprenger would have. This one, I have designed to release the power on the outside. Once the energy has been released, it will collapse in on itself – implode – destroying the seal in the process."

"You sure you want to do this? This is really dangerous."

"Dad, quit getting cold feet. I'll be fine; you'll see." I replied with a smile.

"Alright Ryuken, let's get this over with." Dad sighed.

Ryuken nodded, then set his gaze on me. He placed his right hand on the ground and stabbed what looked to be a stake in the ground with his left hand. He moved a little ways then repeated this. He did it a total of five times. The "stakes" glowed when the final one was driven into the ground. Ryuken then pulled out a silver vial. He opened it and a drop of pure blue fell from the inside. It landed on one of the stakes with a light splash.

 **Third Person's POV**

Two lone figures walked through the streets of Karakura. Rain trickled down from gray clouds, but didn't seem to touch the two. Where everyone was trying to find shelter the two continued forward as if not even noticing the light shower.

The taller of the figures was a man in his mid thirties. He wore a brown trench coat with a brown fedora. Underneath the coat, he had on a brown suit that was crisp and proper. He also wore a pair of polished brown loafers that clicked every time he took a step. He did not wear any jewelry aside from a single gold watch on his left wrist. His face was hidden from view by his hat but one could just make out the well combed brown hair.

The other figure was a girl not much older than nineteen. She also wore a coat, though the rain did not seem to touch it. She had long honey gold hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a long black dress that was very modest. Even being modest, it was still easy to tell that she was a beautiful girl. She did not wear any makeup nor did she wear anything that enhanced her natural splendor.

The two figures continued to walk in the rain until the came across a small crowd of people. Everyone was shoving and moving, trying to get to out of the rain or to their cars. During the push of the crowds, a small child had gotten separated from his mother. The crowds continued pushing toward a crosswalk while the little boy was left on the side walk.

His mother, noticing that he wasn't with her anymore begun calling his name. The boy saw his mother and took off toward her just as the lights had turned green. The boy not noticing the danger continued toward the other side of the straight. The mother screamed as a truck blared its horn.

"Aquatic barrier." the young woman in black spoke softly as a wall of water separated the boy and the truck. She then picked up the boy and carried him across the street to his mother. "Watch him better next time."

The mother only nodded in shock as she took the child. The girl turned and returned to her companion's side.

"You still have a soft spot for the children." the man said in slight amusement.

"I don't think we should forget what we started out as." the girl said simply.

"Soon we will be able to reach our past. The Eclipse wielder has found the Vizard. We will wait a few weeks before recruitment, but it won't be long before the voice will send him our way."

"I almost feel sorry for him." the girl replied.

"Alas, it was his destiny to be ripped from his normal life." the man replied as they continued walking down the side walk.

* * *

I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. I truly hope that I didn't screw up on all of the personalities that I had to write. The magazine part was more of a spoof moment than anything else. I thought that it would be pretty fun if we saw something like that happen with Ichigo, but I don't think we ever did. If y'all have anything to say, be sure to leave a review or PM me. If y'all are enjoying the story so far, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Shield here with another chapter of MOTS. Every time I say that to myself, I feel like getting some applesauce, lol. Anyways, on to the story!

* * *

 **I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' Muhammad Ali**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Elijah's POV**

 **(four days since Awakening)**

* * *

Three days of painful training had gone by. I had yet to get back in to my body, since I had no way of getting back out. Shinji assured me that it would be fine.

Kensei shot his Zanpakuto at me which I narrowly dodged. The first time I had seen it, I had laughed. I was tiny compared to mine. It was basically a combat knife. I thought that I didn't have much to worry about because of its short reach. Boy was I wrong. He nearly took my head off with the first swing. Kensei had barely used any of his strength and he still almost killed me.

Because of that revelation, I spent the entire first day running. The second day was slightly better. I began to be able to dodge some of the slower attacks, but still had my ass handed to me. Today, things improved quite a bit. I was managing to dodge a majority of the strikes and slashes, and even began to return some of them with my own Zanpakuto. Also, my Zanpakuto had completely recovered. It actually felt a little heavier and slightly larger, but I figured that was because I hadn't seen it for three days.

"You are doing well, kid. A few more days of this and you will be ready to take down low level hollows with ease." Kensei said with a smirk.

"I keep hearing that. What are Hollows?" I asked as I parried his blade.

"They are the true enemies of humanity. Greedy monsters that know nothing of love. They devour human souls to satisfy their hunger, but it doesn't last long."

"So they are the boogieman of the soul society."

"Yep, and before we do anymore training, you are going to fight one. But, only if you can dodge this!"

Kensei jabbed the hilt of the knife into my gut, forcing out my breathe. He then spun around, getting behind me, and slashed. I couldn't think clearly and everything was a blur. I just dropped to the ground. I didn't think of anything, I just dropped as if my legs had buckled from underneath me. Kensei stared at me, not sure whether to congratulate or admonish me.

"Does that count as a dodge?" I asked in order to break the awkward silence that had enveloped us.

"What did you feel when you fell?" Kensei asked, his expression was one of flummox.

"Nothing really, it just happened." I replied.

"There was no fear?" he asked. I answered with a shake of my head. "Alright, we will take a break for now. You have about ten minutes before Hachi brings in the first hollow."

"First? How many do I need to fight?" I asked.

"As many as it takes," that was all the Kensei had said.

The ten minute break wasn't long enough. I only slept a few hours the last couple of nights, so when I sat down, I was dead beat. Hachi actually arrived a few minutes early. He saw me and offered to heal me of the bruise I had received while training. I gladly accepted, but Hiyori had other ideas.

"Hachi! You know that you aren't allowed to help! If he doesn't heal than it is his own damn fault!" she yelled at the large man.

"How is that my fault? I can't control nature!" I shot back.

"Because it is! Don't let me catch you being healed! If I do, I will give you ten times the bruises you had!" the blond yelled.

"I do not think it is a good idea to let him fight without being at full strength. We should be helping him prepare, not weakening him." Hachi defended.

"If he dies, he dies. That's how it has to be." Hiyori replied with a wave of her hand.

"You would be a terrible parent." I said exasperated.

"How dare you tell me that! How would you know? For your information, I am a woman. Because of that, I would make a great mother!" Hiyori yelled.

I shook my head and laughed. It was so easy to rile her up. Of course I wasn't sure if I would live to tell about it as she shot me a demon's glare. For a second, I thought I saw her sclerotic turn black, but I waved that off as my imagination.

"Hachi, raise the barrier." Hiyori said as she stepped behind the large man.

He nodded and began reciting some kind of incantation. He then shoved his hands into the ground and an orange rectangular barrier shot out of the ground, trapping me inside. Hachi began to chant again and a hole opened in the barrier. Shinji brought in a large centipede-like creature. It struggled fiercely but Shinji had no problems dragging the gigantic creature into the barrier. Shinji left through the door and it shut behind him. The creature stood to its full height, some thirty feet and roared. The black body of the beast had to be as thick as a tree. Each leg was as thick as my body. It had two large arms that could easily impale me. The mask, the mask was nothing but a blank face with two oval shaped eyes. The sclerotic were black and the iris, crimson.

"Kid, here is a little advice. Don't let him smash open your head and don't let him, argh whats the term that you would understand. Oh yeah, don't let him destroy what you would call your soul chain and soul sleep. Ya remember that and you will be alright." Shinji warned.

"I guess I know why I shouldn't have my head cracked open; it would kill me instantly, but what about the other two?"

"Yer soul chain and yer soul sleep is where yer power is stored and how it is distributed. With them both destroyed, you would be like any other soul. Dying from yer head being smashed open would a good thing compared to what could happen if ya survived it. Let's just say that have been cases where survivors aren't the same after. As long as it doesn't happen then you will be fine. Now, destroy that Hollow before I find out I wasted my time." Shinji replied.

Just as he said that, the centipede creature jumped at me. I barely had enough time to draw my Zanpakuto as the hideous creature barreled into me. I was thrown back into the barrier with a resounding crack.

"I will devour you, Soul Reaper!" it yelled horrifically.

I stumbled back to my feet. I quickly got into one of the stances Kensei had taught me and prepared for the attack. I ran at the monster with all of my might. My black blade gleaming brilliantly as I charged. In fact, it almost seemed to glow. I grew confident as I moved.

The creature moved with lightning speed. It was behind me in a second. Using one of its spear like appendages, it stabbed at me. I slid to the side dodging by an inch. The creature continued its attack, slicing and stabbing as fast as it could. I was able to dodge, but just barely.

"Get back here you little worm! I will devour you!" the Hollow screeched.

"Thanks for the invite, but I am not as tasty as I look! Besides, it's not like you have a mouth!" I retorted.

The Hollow reared up to his full height. He looked down at me menacingly; then the bottom part of his mask broke apart, revealing row upon row of teeth. He lunged at me. I stood my ground and blocked his lunge. My sword got caught in between his first row of teeth. The creature roared out of pain and tried to get my sword out of his teeth. When he couldn't, he swept his left spear arm near the ground, trying to catch my feet. I pulled my sword out of his mouth and sliced the clean through the appendage in a single motion. The Hollow let out an anger soaked roar. It tried to stabbed me with the right spear. I jumped up and sliced that arm to ribbons. The Hollow fell to the ground with another roar. Then, without mercy, I slashed down his mask. My sword easily cut through the bone-like mask and cut deep into the flesh underneath. The Hollow screamed in agony before dissipating into thin hair.

"Very good, Elijah. None of us really thought ya would survive that particular hollow. That one has been devouring souls for a long time. In fact, he has even taken out a few Shinigami." Shinji applauded.

"Does that mean I can get into the soul society?" I asked hopefully.

Shinji looked at the others. They looked like they were about to burst out laughing. Shinji just shook his head.

"Kid, in terms of power, ya are a tenth seat at best. Ya would never stand a chance in the soul society. Heck, ya wouldn't be able to make through the gate." Shinji replied.

"Then help me get stronger!" I demanded.

"That is what we are doing, kid." Kensei said.

"What else is there for me to do?" I asked.

"Plenty." Kensei smirked.

 **Christa's POV**

I woke up on the couch in the living room. It was dark out now. The moon shown brilliantly, lighting up the outside. I thought about calling Dad, but figured that he would be asleep by now. Instead, I opted for staying in bed.

"You're awake." the voice of Ryuken stated.

"You're still here." I replied quickly.

Ryuken stepped into view and smirked. "You have a quick wit. More than I can say about your father. It must come from that shinigami of a mother."

"Thanks, it is. So, what do you want? I figured you would leave after you had finished." I said.

"I had to see my handiwork. Besides, even with your powers unlocked, your father would never be able to teach you how to be a Quincy."

"Meaning he asked you to teach me." I finished.

"Correct. We will be leaving within the hour. Get your things ready and we will leave. Your first lesson will begin as soon as we arrive in Japan." the man said as he walked out of the room.

I stood up, barely noticing that I did, and immediately began to search for my dad. He wasn't in his room which really bothered me. I searched throughout the house but did not find a sign of my father. I finally went outside and looked around the porch. Dad was sitting on the porch swing, staring at the moon.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked without even looking at me.

"Dad, I don't want to leave you." I said as tears sprung to my eyes.

"I know Hun, but you have to." Dad whispered. He stood up and hugged me tightly. I melted into his embrace.

"Can't you come with me?" I asked.

"No, there are a few things I need to take care of here. I wouldn't want you coming home to no house. The cabin is nice but we both know that you hate how it looks." Dad said with a hint of a smile.

I cried softly. I just wanted things to go back to the way things were before. "Bye Dad. I love you."

"I know Christa. I love you too. I will see you when you get back. When you find your brother, be sure to keep him out of trouble. I will miss you. Now, you better get packed." Dad replied.

 **Elijah's POV**

Several days had gone by since I killed my first Hollow. Despite my initial success, Shinji and the others continued to push me to the limits. I was up to fighting six hollows a day. All of the Hollows would vary in power. Some would be on par with me. Others seemed ridiculously powerful. By the end of the sixth day, I was able to destroy most hollows. Though there were a few that could still give me trouble.

On the seventh day, Shinji halted my training. I had gone to Hachi and asked him why, but all he said was to go talk to Hiyori. I didn't like the idea of talking with her. She didn't know how to just talk. She could yell, but couldn't talk.

"Hey Hiyori, why can't I train some more? I think I am really getting the hang of this Soul Reaper thing." I said.

"They aren't called Soul Reapers! They are called Shinigami, ya dumb ass!" she yelled causing me to flinch. "You aren't training here because you are done. Shinji and Kensei will tell ya the rest when they get here."

"I'd wish they would hurry up. I'm already tired of this wild goose chase." I muttered. "You know, I really haven't thought about going back into my body lately."

"That's what happens when someone kills your body when you become a Shinigami." Hiyori replied dismissively.

"What? You killed me?" I yelled. "You're kidding right? You didn't actually kill me, did you?"

"No, we didn't kill your body!" Hiyori laughed, hysterically. "You should have seen your face, you looked like you were about to have a heart attack!"

"That… wasn't… funny!" I roared, lunging at the brat.

I didn't even see her move. To me, she had just vanished. My lunge turned into a full face dive that I couldn't prevent from happening. I fell face first into the ground.

"You really should stop biting off more than you can chew." Hiyori said with a smirk.

"Hiyori, do you actually care about what happens to me?" I asked with feigned shock.

"Of course I don't! You're a dumb ass like the rest of them!" she yelled as she blushed. She then proceeded to kick me in the ribs.

"Alright Hiyori, that's enough." Shinji said as he and Kensei stepped into the training grounds.

"It's about time you get here! I thought that I would die of old age!"

"In your Shinigami form, it would be millennia before you would die. It wouldn't have taken that long for us to get here." Kensei smirked.

"Alright, down to business. Ya are now going to take on the duties of an actual shinigami. Here, take this." Shinji said, tossing something at me in the process.

"A flip phone? Why didn't you just get me a carrier pigeon?" I replied sarcastically.

"It's not a cell phone ya twit. It is a Denreishinki." Shinji replied.

"In English..." I said trying to get a straight answer.

"In English, it is called a Divine Messenger Machine."

"That sounds so stupid. So what does it do?"

"It receives orders from the Soul Society. It informs the users of current Hollow activity. This is where ya need to be careful. I got this from a friend. He rigged this one so that it would be untraceable. Unfortunately, we can't tell where the Shinigami that is in charge of this town. That is a problem since ya aren't from the Soul Society. If ya run into another Shinigami, run. Don't fight, just run."

"Alright already. Just give me that thing." I said, becoming impatient.

Shinji tossed it to me. I easily caught it and flipped it open. The device's screen flashed on. It looked just like any other flip phone. I closed it again and hid it in my robes. I turned and left.

"Lisa, could you keep an eye on him? Something tells me he will be getting into a lot of trouble." I heard Shinji say.

Minutes after my abrupt departure, the pager began to go off. I had difficulty getting it out of my robes. Muttering to myself about needing to find a better way of carrying the thing, I flipped it opened and peered at the screen. It showed what looked like a map of the area and a single dot. I shrugged and began the trek to the Hollow.

I found the hollow with little struggle. The creature was hunting a young girl whose soul chain was severed. I didn't give the hollow a chance to fight back as I slashed the creature with my sword. It howled in pain, but did not go down. It turned to face me, but I had already begun my downward swing that severed the Hollow's head from his shoulders. It fell to the ground then dissipated.

"That was easy enough." I said, sheathing my Zanpakuto.

"Next time, aim for the mask only. Then you won't have to strike again. Now, it is time you perform Conso on that spirit there." Lisa said from behind me.

"Why? That Soul Reaper took my mother away doing that very thing."

"Tell me, did your mother still have her soul chain attached?" Lisa asked.

"I-I don't know. She had these white robes on sorta like mine. I didn't see a chain." I replied.

"White robes? Was your mother a Soul Reaper?" Lisa asked.

"That's what everyone has been telling me." I said.

"Then, your mother wasn't actually killed. She was in a dying Gigai. That must mean the Soul Society wanted her for something." Lisa muttered thoughtfully. "What division was your mother in?"

"As if I have a clue. I am still pretty new at all of this." I replied. I started to say something else, but my soul pager began to ring again. "I will see you later."

"What about the Plus?" Lisa asked as I left.

"You take care of her. You were a Soul Reaper once, right?" I replied.

 **Third Person POV**

"That idiot! He can't get any stronger if he just runs off like that." Lisa looked at the cowering girl and sighed. "At the rate he is going, we are going to have to tell him about us. Damn that fool!"

"What are you going to do to me?" the plus said.

"I don't know, girl. I can't perform Conso for you. If I did, my Inner Hollow would kill you."

"H-hollow? You're a Hollow?" the girl stuttered.

"I am both Shinigami and Hollow." Lisa said coolly.

The girl scooted back then got up and ran. Lisa gazed at her with saddened eyes. Though the Soul Society branded her an outcast, there was one thing she missed; being able to help the endangered souls of the world of the living. Even though she lived in that very world, she could not help them.

 **Elijah's POV**

"Really? Another weak one? How am I supposed to get stronger if they are all weaker than I am?" I yelled. This day was getting boring very fast.

"If you want a challenge, then I may be just what you are looking for." a deep, groveling voice said.

I quickly jumped and pulled out my Zanpakuto. I looked around but didn't see a thing. That was when I noticed that there was no sounds, no birds, no wind, no crickets. It was completely dead.

"Hahahaha, I love making you maggots nervous. It just makes your soul that much more delicious when I devour it." the entity laughed.

The familiar pressure of a thousand stampeding elephants crushing me returned. I instantly fell to the ground. My sword clattered several inches away from me. I struggled to roll over. When I finally did, I saw the creature that was causing me such pain.

The Hollow was a lot smaller than what I was used to. He was actually just a couple inches taller than me. He was vaguely humanoid, but that was where the similarities ended. Its feet were toe-less forms that were shaped like narrow ovals. The creature's legs were backwards, similar to a large carnivore. Spikes protruded out of his knees, elbows, and wrists. The ones on its wrists covered its hands almost like a gauntlet. The creature had a long tail which ended in three large spikes. The creature's mask was elongated with sharp looking teeth clenched together. The eyes glowed a deep red. Overall, the creature looked like a human and lizard hybrid.

"I like to play with my food." the creature said as it bent down to pick up my Zanpakuto. It looked the blade over then tossed it back to me. Suddenly the weight lifted off of my shoulders and I was free to move once more. "I am looking for a good fight, so you better do better than the last Shinigami that I fought."

"W-why would I want to fight you?" I asked, completely scared out of my wits.

"You don't have a choice." the creature said with a smirk.

The Hollow charged at me like lightning. I manged to get to my feet and block the incoming slash, but just barely. The beast continued its onslaught as it slashed with its knees, elbows and wrists. My blocks became more desperate as I blocked each consecutive hit. Suddenly, my parries failed. A spike from the Hollow's knee slid under my sword and stabbed me in the abdomen. I looked down in shock as blood dripped from the wound.

The Hollow smiled a strange and scary smile. Using its three fingered hand, it wiped away some of the blood from its blade and licked it. It smirked again and thrust its wrists at me at the same time. I bent backwards and dodge the strikes by a hair. The maneuver caused me to fall on my back. This proved to be a near fatal mistake. The Hollow lunged at me while laughing. Its shriek-like laughter paralyzed me. It pointed the spikes on its wrists and knees down as it fell toward me. I swiped at the Hollow with all of the strength I could muster. The swing was enough to stop the wrist spikes, but the knee spikes penetrated deep into my left thigh and stomach. Blood spouted from my mouth and dribbled down my lips.

"I thought that you would be a little more fun to play with. Oh well, I guess I should not have expected that much."

The Hollow opened its maw and prepared to bite down into me. I closed my eyes and waited for the end to come. It didn't happen. I looked up and saw that the Hollow was staring at something else. I followed its gaze and saw someone who looked a lot like I did. The figure had on a shihakusho and hakama just like mine.

"You know, for a Hollow, you have quite a bit of spirit pressure. If I were to take a guess, I would say that it was on par with a lieutenant." the figure said as he hoisted a giant Zanpakuto over his shoulder. It was shaped like a large khyber knife. The sword had no hilt or tsuba. The tang was wrapped with white strips of cloth. Though the sword was very impressive, what got my attention the most though was his bright orange hair.

"It seems that you have an idea of how powerful I am. You shouldn't have come. I will devour you as well!"

"Ichigo! Watch out, this one is hiding something!" a girl I just noticed said. She was wearing the same clothes as well. Her sword was considerably smaller. It was actually about the same size mine was.

The Hollow laughed and charged at this Ichigo character. The new soul reaper sliced down in a single motion that cut deeply into the Hollow's shoulder. The Hollow jumped back out of shock. Its left arm was completely useless as it hung limply at his side. The Hollow roared then disappeared from my sight. I looked all over the place, but didn't see a trace of it. The Ichigo kid spun around and blocked a thrust from the Hollow with his hand.

"Like I said earlier, your spiritual pressure is impressive, about the level of a lieutenant. However, I have beaten captains."

"That's not possible! No one is stronger than me. I have devoured over a dozen different shinigami! You can't be stronger than me! Your bluffing!" the creature roared angrily.

The Hollow ripped away from the soul reaper and opened its lizard-like maw. A red ball of spiritual pressure formed. It grew larger and larger until it was about the size of a small car. It then released the attack in the form of a large beam.

The soul reaper almost seemed to be smirking. He held his Zanpakuto out straight in front of him. He grasped it in both hands then raised it above his hands.

"Getsuga Tensho!" the soul reaper yelled as he slung down the blade.

A wave of black and red spiritual pressure erupted from the blade and was sent on a collision course with the Hollow's blast. The two waves collided and fought each other for several seconds. Unfortunately for the Hollow, the Getsuga Tensho sliced through its attack like butter. The wave of energy rushed at the Hollow. It shrieked out of agony as it was ripped apart by the attack. Smoke filled the air obscuring my view, but I could tell that the Hollow was still alive. When the smoke cleared, I could make out the Hollow. Its right arm had been completely vaporized and it was bleeding profusely.

"Damn you, Soul Reaper! You'll pay for this!" the Hollow yelled. Then he pointed to me. "I will kill you. I will find you and kill you!"

The Hollow turned around and began to run. The fact that it could still stand, surprised me. As it ran it swiped its arm in front itself. A crack began to form in front of the Hollow. The crack opened wider and wider until it was big enough for the Hollow to jump through. As it did, the crack closed up again.

"You fool! You let him get away!" the young woman said as she slapped the much taller soul reaper upside the head.

"Damn, what you do that for?" the other soul reaper yelled.

" _You must leave now. They must not find out who you are! If you_ _get captured now, your journey will be over._ _"_ the voice of my sword said, his words cutting through my thoughts like they were my own.

"Thanks for the help, but I've got to go." I said before I jumped up and ran off.

"Hey! Get back here!" the other reaper called as he gave chase. He easily caught up with me and reached out to grab my shoulder. I quickly slashed at his arm, trying my best to not get caught. Ichigo took less than a second to bring his blade up to block my slash. I took that moment to jump into a nearby alley.

"Ichigo! Let him be! There is another Hollow in the area!" the girl said before disappearing. Ichigo scowled, then he also disappeared.

* * *

I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. I really enjoyed writing Ichigo and I hope that I did a good job and didn't make him seem too OOC. If you have anything to say be sure to leave a review or pm me! If you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button. This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving! I have been waiting to write this chapter for a while. It has just a little bit of everything! Anyways, let's get on with the story!

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 **It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.**

 **David Brin**

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 **Chapter 4**

 **Christa's POV**

 **(Eleven days since awakening)**

A limo met us outside the airport. The driver stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the door for Ryuken and myself. Ryuken silent stepped inside the car not even acknowledging the driver.

"Arigato." I said with a small bow.

"You are quite welcome Miss Parks." the driver said in fluent English. I was taken back a little which made the driver smile a little. I climbed into the car and the driver shut the door behind me.

"I did not realize that you could speak Japanese." Ryuken said as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and placed it in his mouth. He then proceeded with lighting the cigarette with his silver lighter. He breathed in and a second later breathed out. I coughed as the car filled with smoke.

"I know a little we had an exchange student from Tokyo. He taught me a little." I replied.

"Well then, that will be added to the items you need to learn. Quincy are not like soul reapers. We don't have an inherent knowledge of the languages of the world."

"You mean that soul reapers know every language in the world?" I asked incredulously. Ryuken only nodded.

"Now I'm jealous." I muttered.

"Don't be. It is the only trait they have that is worth having. The Quincy are superior in every other way." Ryuken said with fierce pride.

"You didn't strike me as the type to care about being a Quincy. To be honest, you seem pretty self centered." I replied.

Ryuken snorted. "Being a Quincy gives you no future. You can't earn a living helping spirits that no one else can see. With that said, anything is better than being a Shinigami."

"You know that my brother is a Shinigami right now, right? I mean you did hear that part of the story, or were you drowning that part out with your cigarettes."

"Watch yourself, girl." the man growled. "Or you might find yourself in a strange land with no money and no way to get home."

"As if you would actually do that. You seem like many things, but cruel isn't one of them. Even when you try to act like it." I replied calling his bluff.

"I hope I can train your tongue like I will train your abilities."

"That will the day." I replied. Despite this man being my teacher, there was no way I would respect him until he proved himself to me.

"We have another matter to discuss. While you are staying here, you will be continuing your education." I began to protest, but Ryuken cut me off. "There is no room for debate. You will be attending the same school as Uryu, my son. I have it worked out that you will be attending the same class as him. He will watch out for you while at school."

"How will I understand a single thing they teach? I don't know very much Japanese!" I shouted.

"I don't know about the States, but, in Japan, students are required to learn English at a very young age. Your country's influence has made it a necessity. You will be fine." Ryuken said pushing up his glasses. The glare on the lenses blocked out what his eyes were saying.

The car slowed to a stop and the driver got out and opened the door. Ryuken got up and out. I began to follow him, but he held up his hand.

"You stay in the car. The driver will take you to my manor." he said.

"And what are you doing!" I demanded.

"I am a doctor first. I must see to some patients before I can return home. Uryu will be waiting for you." Ryuken said.

The driver took me to the Ishida Manor. It was a large estate sitting in the middle of Karakura Town. The mansion itself took after a lot of Victorian style homes with white, marble pillars and several rotundas. At the same time, it had distinct Japanese attributes. The roof was tiled with traditional Japanese style clay tiles and the doors were simple sliding doors. To me, that seemed to be out of place, but it wasn't my house so I didn't really care.

The driver pulled to a stop in front of the house. There was an oriental man in a black suit standing in front of the main entrance. The driver quickly exited the vehicle and opened my door. I quietly climbed out of the car and bowed toward the driver. He returned the gesture and reentered the limo.

"You must be Miss Parks. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Yoritomo Azuma Master Ishida's head butler."

"It is very nice to meet you Mr. Yoritomo." I replied graciously.

"You really don't have to be so formal with me Miss Parks. Formality is something that I never really cared for. I try to reserve it for when Master Ishida is around." the man laughed. "Anyways, lets get you settled in. Are these all of your bags?"

"Yes, I lost most of my stuff in the fire that destroyed my house." I replied.

"I see. Since that is the case, I will be more than happy to have my wife acquire whatever items you may need."

"That's alright. You really don't have to." I replied.

"It is my job to serve. If there is anything that you need, anything at all, be sure to find me. Now if you will follow me, I will take you to your room."

The mansion had very few hallways despite its size. I was glad for that since it would be easy to navigate. That last thing I needed was for me to get lost on my way to the bathroom or something. My room was down a long hallway on the west side of the house. Yoritomo opened the door and ushered me inside.

The room was huge! It was probably three times the size of my old room in the States! There was a bay window that overlooked a beautiful garden on the outside wall. The floors were covered in magnificent mahogany floors. The bed was cast iron and painted white, flowers adorned the metal curls.

"This is fancier than my whole house." I muttered.

"Yes, Master Ishida does like to go out of his way with his money, doesn't he." Yoritomo replied with an approving smile. "Unfortunately, you probably won't be in here too much what with school and your Quincy training."

I stared at the butler out of shock. The man chuckled at my reaction.

"It is no secret that the Master of the house is also one of the last Quincy. Though, his son would love to take that title for himself."

"Uryu?"

"Yes, Uryu. He is the last one to practice being a Quincy, but his father is the last one to know the darkest secrets of the Quincy. That is why he is the _last_ Quincy."

"So that's why my dad asked for his help." I concluded.

"Yes, Master Ishida was the one to place the seals on you and your brother. Because of that, he is the only one that would be able to unseal the seal safely. If your father had tried or even if you had forced that seal you would have certainly died."

I didn't say anything as I mulled over this new piece of information. My dad wasn't able to do anything. He had been helpless in that situation. That caused me to realize something, I was truly on my own. Dad wouldn't be there to help me.

"I'll leave you to get unpacked. The closet is through that door and if you need to use the restroom it is through the door next to the closet." Yoritomo said. I thanked him and he took his leave.

I grabbed my back pack and plastic bag and headed to the closet. I opened the door to find the room was half the size of the bedroom. It was mostly empty except for a single hanger holding up a white button down shirt, a yellow vest, and a short skirt. The crest of Karakura high school was plastered on the left breast of the vest.

"You have got to be kidding me." I thought out loud. There was a note on the uniform.

'Uryu said the vest is optional. Everything else must be worn or you will be dress coded. Do not receive an office referral on the first day. I expect all grades to be A+ minimum. If they fall I will refuse to train you. Uryu will explain the rest to you.' I crumpled the note up and tossed it across the room out of anger. This was going to be a long journey.

 **Elijah's POV**

"What the hell were you thinking!" Lisa yelled as we had returned to the hideout.

"I was just trying to kill Hollows. I wasn't trying to bring in any soul reapers." I mumbled, completely embarrassed of my failure.

"We warned you about them. Now, the Soul Society will know about you. Ichigo Kurosaki won't say anything, but Rukia Kuchiki will report to her superiors." Lisa continued.

"How did you do that anyways. I felt the Hollow, but for some reason, I felt you as well. It was like you and the Hollow were the same."

"That's because we are. Each one of the Vizard were once part of the thirteen court guard squads. We were to be executed after we had been put through the process of hollowfication. Because of that process, we are a perfect hybrid of Shinigami and Hollows." Lisa explained with a sigh.

"That is why you are all so powerful." I stated.

"Yes and no. All of us were once lieutenant and captain class Shinigami. Hollowfication augmented our abilities and unlocked new ones."

"Why are you telling me all of this. It seems to me like you didn't want to tell me to begin with."

"You were going to find out eventually. You also forced my hand today." Lisa said with a shrug.

We didn't say another word to each other as we entered the warehouse. The revelation that had transpired filled my head with ideas. I saw how powerful the orange haired soul reaper was. He even said he had taken on captain level soul reapers. Something inside of me craved that power. It was a strange feeling, one that was almost foreign to me. It was almost as addictive as a drug. The very thought of having the abilities of a Hollow made my heart skip a beat. The Hollow that nearly killed me was extremely powerful. That beam, though it had been sliced in half by that Ichigo character, would have killed me in an instant. If I had that kind of power, then I would be able to destroy the Soul Society with no problems.

My heart skipped another beat. I had no clue what I was thinking. I had thought of those things out of pure hatred. I didn't want to destroy anything. I just wanted to bring my mom back. I was unnerved by what I felt. Even after I shoved the notion out of my head, I could still feel a lingering hatred.

 **Third Person POV**

"Shinji, I think we need to talk." Lisa said as she approached the bowl cut blond.

"Sup." Shinji replied absentmindedly.

"I think we need to watch that boy more carefully. There is something dangerous about him." I said.

"The kid has the power of a tenth seat at best. I think we will be fine. If he becomes a problem, we can take him out."

"I don't think we are being cautious enough. The kid has grown stronger faster than any of us thought. He can take out most regular Hollows by himself. He was complaining about not having a challenge after every Hollow he purified."

"Save that last one, any longer and he would have been a shish kabob. The one you had to interfere, is that right?"

"That was no ordinary Hollow. Even I would be hard pressed against that one if I were a mere lieutenant."

"Alright, we will keep a keener eye on him. Before ya leave, what is the real reason that yer so worried?"

"His eyes when I told him about our true nature."

"He knows about that, huh. Then we do need to tread carefully." Shinji muttered.

 **Christa's POV**

I somehow got lost in the monstrosity that was the Ishida manor. I decided that I should get to know my surroundings. Unfortunately, my decision got me extremely lost. That is until I bumped, more like collided, into a boy a little older than I was.

"I am so sorry! I should have been paying attention to where I was going." I was completely embarrassed. I scrambled to the boy's side.

"It is alright. I was at fault as well. I assume that you are Ms. Christa."

"Y-yeah, who are you?" I asked.

"I am Uryu Ishida. I'm told that you are the girl my father is going to train."

"That's me. My brother transformed into a Soul Reaper and is about to do something stupid. I'm trying to stop him."

"I see. Has my father told you about how he will be training you?" Uryu asked, pushing up his glasses.

"No. He wouldn't tell me anything on the plane and we didn't talk about it during the ride here."

"Come, we must head to the hospital."

"What's at the hospital?"

"The training grounds."

"The training grounds?"

Uryu and I walked to the hospital in a little under twenty minutes. It was a little strange, but Karakura didn't seem much different than suburban Dallas, aside from the language barrier and the slight architectural differences. I was relieved by this as it did take away some of the anxiety I felt about leaving my home.

Uryu lead the way through the hospital. Several of the nurses and doctors greeted the younger Ishida warmly, he paid them no mind. He led me to an elevator which opened almost as soon as we had reached it. Uryu pulled out a key from his pocket as we stepped inside. The key was like an old skeleton key with the Quincy cross on the end of it. He inserted it into a slot under the main switch board and typed in 776262 using the floor numbers. The elevator slowly descended.

We were in a large underground room. There were pillars everywhere that ranged from a couple of feet high to several yards high. There were no windows and only a dull blue glow lit the room.

"I knew that you would not stay away until tomorrow. I see that you are as impulsive as my son." Ryuken's voice boomed through the odd room. "Since you both are here, I suppose we can begin."

Ryuken stepped out of a corner and stared at the two of us with disapproving eyes. "One of you has been disempowered, the other has no ability at all. You both will be receiving similar training despite the different problems. Are you both ready to begin?"

"Yes!" I said.

"Good, let us begin." Ryuken said. He held out his hand and a blue beam shot out of it. He grabbed it like it was an actual object and brought it up. It then solidified into a silver bow. He drew the bowstring. A blue sphere formed then elongated into an arrow shape. He then fired the arrow straight at us!

"Damn you!" I heard Uryu yell as he tackled me. The arrow whizzed through the area where I had just been.

"Are you trying to kill us?" I yelled.

"That is exactly what I am trying to do. If you can not draw a bow soon, you will both die." Ryuken said without remorse.

"Forget what I said in the limo. You are one heartless bastard!" I yelled.

 **Elijah's POV**

"So, I just sit here with my sword and concentrate?" I asked, not entirely convinced.

"That is right. In order to attain your Shikai you must perform Jinzen. Jinzen will allow for you to enter your inner world. That is where you must prove that you are worthy of your Zanpakuto's power." Hachigen replied as he sat across from me. "Now try it."

I sat cross legged and closed my eyes. I focused on my blade and tried to drown out all distractions. Then a feeling hit me. It was like I was being grabbed by something and pulled through water. The sheer force was ferocious and nearly caused me to pass out. Somehow, I managed to stay awake.

The world that I was now in was dark. Stars twinkled in the night sky. Buildings loomed over me. I roamed the alley, trying to see where it led. It finally opened up onto a wide street with a single light.

"You made it I see. Very good. Now we will begin with the second phase of our plan. You must achieve Shikai." the shrouded figure said. He stood on the light pole, a shadow on a shadow of the new moon.

"How do I do that? What do I need to do?" I asked quickly.

"You are excited. That is good, but that is only a part of the equation. You must learn my name. That is the second part of the equation. Despite my need for you to succeed, I cannot give you my name, unless you can hear it."

"Well let me hear it then. I'm ready for it."

"Very well. My name is Ken no -" the shrouded figure said.

"Ken no what?" I asked.

"You are not ready. You are close, but, how does the old phrase go, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?"

"How do I unlock your full name?" I asked.

"Find an opponent that can kill you and defeat him in battle. Only a strong opponent with the intent to kill you will be able awaken my full name."

"That could take months! There is no guarantee that one would just show up and the last strong one nearly killed me!"

"Knowing even part of my name will make you strong. Now go, our plan hinges on your success. Remember this for my partial release, I take what I can. I am Ken no-."

I felt as though I had awoken from a deep slumber. My sword was still in my lap. Hachigen looked at me quizzically. I slowly stood up and tucked my sword back in my obi sash.

"How did it go?" Hachi asked gently.

"I am almost there. I heard part of his name." I replied.

"Very good, we must tell Shinji. He will be able to train you until you reach a full Shikai." Hachigen replied. The giant of a man stood up and began walking back to the others.

"The shrouded man said that I could use some of his power." I muttered to myself. I unsheathed my blade and flipped it around so that the blade was pointed down. The words the shrouded figure said popped into my head.

"Take what you can, Kenno." I yelled.

Reishi surged from my hand down to my sword and swirled around it. The sword glowed bright blue, then it looked as if it were melting. The blade shrunk to about twelve inches, then widened a good five inches. The back of the blade became serrated. The tsuba flattened then curved till it hit bottom of the hilt. Then the glowing faded. Instead of a katana, a very large Bowie knife was left in my hand. No one was more surprised than me. If this was the power from a partial release, then I couldn't wait until I fully released my Zanpakuto.

"Looks like ya gained a rare ability." Shinji said from behind me.

"Whoa! How did you get here?" I yelped. The Vizard leaned in closer his hands in his pocket. "What are you doing?"

"Inspecting your partial release. I want to know what I am dealing with."

"Its a Bowie knife. What more can you be looking for?"

"Oh, I bet I'll find out." the next thing I know, Shinji made a vertical slash with his Zanpakuto. Blood spilled from a shallow cut in my chest. I gripped it with my left hand as my right hand clutched my Bowie knife.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled, angry began to turn into rage.

"Ya better be ready. On this battlefield we are no longer acquaintances. We are enemies." Shinji dashed at me faster than humanly possible. His sword ready to slice me in half. Remembering the training Kensei had given me, I was ready. My knife parried the longer blade and allowed me to get closer. I aimed straight for the heart. Then the blade pierced nothing.

"My, that was awfully close. I shouldn't be so reckless against something I know nothing about. If it weren't for my Shunpo, I would have been dead for sure." Shinji critiqued himself.

"You guys really need to show me how to do that. It's not fair that you can just teleport around like that." I replied.

"Tell ya what, if both of my hands touch the hilt of my blade because of yer attacks, then I'll teach ya Shunpo myself." Shinji said with a grin.

"That will be easy." I said with a smirk.

I charged at the former soul reaper and readied my knife. I stayed low to the ground and shot my knife up. It blocked a downward swing and left Shinji open for my true attack, an uppercut to the jaw. Shinji stepped back a couple of feet and held his jaw. I ran at him again, but this time I slid. My slide took me close enough to swipe with my knife. Instead the air was knocked out of me.

"That would never work against any opponent." Shinji said with a frown as he pulled his foot away from my chest.

I growled out of frustration and readied myself. Shinji made the first move this time. We clashed blades several times. Block, parry, swipe, block, parry, slash. The cycle continued for several seconds until Shinji and I locked blades and I took a hit to the gut from his free hand.

"Aside from a power boost, yer partial release didn't seem to do anything special." Shinji frowned again. He didn't even look tired. "That's downright disappointing."

'You must defeat him if you ever want to gain the power to save your mother. Use it; use the one technique that this partial release allows you to do.'

"I'm not done yet." I gasped. "Subete no Hanzai!"

Reishi erupted from all around me then swirled around my blade. Shinji, completely off guard, gaped as I closed the gap in a second. My blade's blue light flared. It turned purple and then a light red and a very light gray. I shoved the knife forward as I jumped into an arrow-like position with the knife as the tip and my body as the shaft. The reddish energy flowed over my body, separating me from the outside world. I felt my blade hit its mark.

A large explosion filled my ears with a resounding crack. Smoke stung my eyes. Both of my feet were on the ground, my body lurched forward, my blade shaking as its tip rested against the broad side of my targets blade.

"Nice, that was quite the surprise." Shinji said genuinely sounding impressed. "Unfortunately, ya still didn't force me to use my other hand. I did quite the opposite really."

Shinji was right. The dust cleared and I was shocked to see that he hadn't blocked with his sword. He held his hand up like he was telling me to halt. In between his middle finger and his index finger, was six inches of my blade.

"You still have much to learn. You are nowhere near as strong as you think. You obtained a pseudo release. It is not a real Shikai."

Shinji twisted his fingers ever so slightly. The blade snapped in two. He walked by me, placing his sword back inside its sheath. I straightened up and looked back down at my broken blade.

"It regenerates faster if ya have both pieces nearby." Shinji said as he tossed the other half to me. "If it is any consolation, you ain't half bad. Yer just not good enough, yet."

'There was no way you could have won that. Not without your full Shikai. Tonight, when everyone is asleep, continue with your hollow extermination. Listen to your instincts. They will help you grow stronger than even the Vizard.' my sword whispered.

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I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. This one was really fun to write since we finally begin to see Christa's training. Also, we saw that Elijah was starting to have a few morality issues. If you have anything to say be sure to leave a review or pm me. If you are enjoying the story be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	5. Chapter 5

What's up guys! Shieldliger001 here, and I must say that I am pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. Before we start this chapter I want to say thank you to Bearticguy7 and Bordeaux Lady for favoriting and/or following the story! The support really means a lot. Anyways, on with the story!

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 **We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.**

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 **C. S. Lewis**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Christa's POV**

Ryuken fired arrow after arrow tirelessly. An hour into the training Uryu had to save me countless times. He even got hit a few times during the process. By the six hour mark, my body was nearing collapse. It hurt to move, blood leaked from wounds I had receive from near misses, and bruises littered my body from head to toe.

Uryu was in even worst condition. He held his ribs with his left arm; they had been broken during a dive he had taken to get me out of the way. His right arm hung completely limp. Blood dripped from his brow and puddled on the floor around him.

"Neither one of you have drawn a bow. Uryu, you have tried, but your reishi is not there. You must try harder or I will kill you. Christa, you are too worried about self-preservation. You want to run, but there is no place to do so. Because of that, you are paralyzed. You must stop running. Take this challenge head on or I will surely kill you as well." Ryuken said readying another arrow.

Ryuken unleashed another barrage at us. Uryu dodged to the left. His speed astounded me. Despite how grievous his condition was, he still had the energy to move. I rolled, more like flung, myself forward. The arrows of light smashed into the ground inches away from my feet. I struggled to get up. My arms and legs refused to function.

I could feel Ryuken's gaze as he took aim at my limp form. "Your father would be so disappointed."

Time froze in place. The world turned black, white, and gray. Ryuken stood about a hundred feet away, body completely frozen. His hand had already loosed several arrows, but the arrows were frozen in time.

"You aren't going to die on me. You need to get yourself out of this." a childish voice said. I looked to my left in surprise. There stood a twelve year old version of Elijah. He grinned happily at me as he walked toward me. He seemed to glow with innocence.

"You can't be my brother." I muttered.

"You're right, I'm not. I'm a part of you. You aren't going to allow some grouchy old man define who you are, are you?" Elijah asked.

"But, he is too..."

"Shut up! That's why you always seem to find trouble. You think too little of yourself. You think that dad would send you here if he didn't think you could do this. What happened to the girl that risked her life to get her powers? Did she really die that day as well?" kid Elijah said irately. I shook my head. "Then get out there and prove that bastard wrong!"

"Elijah! Language!" I yelled.

"Whatever. I know that you will make it through this, but you will have to do it on your own. It wouldn't be right if I told you how to use your powers." he replied with a cheeky grin.

"You are no help at all ya brat!" I yelled as time resumed.

The arrows resumed their intended course completely unaffected by the pit stop. A new confidence filled my heart. It was more of an annoyance actually. Of all the things I felt, it was annoyance. I felt as though I could move again and quickly rolled out of the way of the arrows.

"I see that you have some fight in you still. Good, but will it be enough for you to summon your own abilities?" Ryuken said.

I dashed at the arrogant man as soon as I could reach my feet. The move shocked Ryuken, if only for a second. It was good enough to get me in within his range. I smiled lightly as I closed. I remembered some of the karate lessons I had received just prior to the accident. I got in close and ducked down inside his defenses. I was going for a punch in the gut, but my fist hit only air.

"That was impressive, but you should never leave yourself open like that." Ryuken stood right beside me with an arrow against my head.

I screwed up. I heard something slip through the air. Then I heard the sound of something shattering.

"The same goes for you." Uryu shouted from across the basement. I looked to see Ryuken's bow had broken and dissipated.

"You materialized your bow. Very good, you will be moving on in the training." Ryuken said with slightly approval. "You on the other hand will not. You may have been able to use your Reishi to increase your speed, but you have failed to materialize your bow."

"Where are you going?" Uryu asked tersely as Ryuken headed toward the elevator.

"I have had the entire ninth floor sealed off. It will serve as your own hospital wing. Get yourselves presentable then return to the manor." the man said dismissively.

 **Elijah's POV**

Night time fell quickly. That meant that I could finally sneak out. I had been given a cot which sat in the middle of the training ground. It was an odd place to put a cot but it's not like I had a choice. It also sucked that the training area was always lit. It was literally as bright as day 24/7.

Getting out was easy. Everyone slept like rocks. The problem came with trying to get my soul pager. Shinji decided that he should hold onto it while I wasn't training. His reason was that he didn't want to find me texting on a valuable piece of equipment, or something lame like that.

I snuck, more like ran, three quarters of the way then crouched walk the rest of it, towards the opposite side of the room. Shinji had his room tucked behind the outer wall of the training ground, blocked by an ordinary office door. I slowly turned the handle as I peered through the small, glass window.

The room was pitch black save the light that blared through the window. I could just barely make out Shinji's sleeping form. He lay on a cot at the far side of the room. There was little else to distinguish the room aside from an old, beat-up chest. Lying on top of the chest was the soul pager. The chest was on the same wall as the door about four feet away. I eased my body through the door way and proceeded to slink my way toward the phone. I quickly laid finger tips on the device and pulled it into my robes. I quickly made it to the doorway and stepped out, pulling the door closed behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief and ran for the exit.

 **Christa's POV**

I woke up in a cold sweat. My heart ached as though I had been running a marathon. I wasn't sure why, but I felt as though something dark had just emerged. I collapsed back into my bed, but I didn't feel any better. I rolled around a few times, trying to get comfortable again. Unfortunately, my injuries during today's 'training' would not allow me such comfort.

I rolled over and faced the door and closed my eyes, praying that God would allow me to sleep. Again, it didn't come. Instead, I felt compelled to stay awake. My eyes fluttered open again. Several minutes passed, but still sleep avoided me like a plague.

Finally, I forced myself out of bed. I got up, cringing as my sore muscles screamed in protest, and thought about just walking around the house to kill off the mental energy I still apparently had. I opened the door and immediately ran into something or rather someone.

"Uryu! You scared me to death!" I said with a hushed whisper as soon as I could make out who it was.

"I apologize Ms. Parks. I did not mean to wake you." the boy replied as he pushed his glasses up.

"What are you doing up? It's two in the morning." I asked.

"Ms. Parks it is only twelve o'clock. You must still have your watch set to central standard time. We are in Japan standard time." Uryu responded.

"Oh." I said with a small yawn. "Maybe that's why I can't sleep. You still didn't tell me why you were awake. We both have classes tomorrow."

"Yes, well, I needed some fresh air so I was going to take a walk in the garden." Uryu said a little too quickly.

"What a coincidence. I was going to walk for a little bit as well. Mind if I join you?" I asked suspicion leaking slightly into my voice.

"I would really rather you did not."

"Why do you sound nervous?"

"Nervous. I have no idea what you are talking about, Ms. Parks."

"Christa is fine. You are going out to train, aren't you!" I accused.

"What gave you that i-impression." Uryu stammered.

"You sneaking around. Not letting me "walk" with you out in the garden. What else could it be."

"You are very astute. Not many would have been able to guess my intentions." he replied after calming himself.

"Well, someone in my family had to be. My brother is so dense that he would sink in an ocean of mercury. Besides, I can tell that I make you nervous."

"Miss Parks, I know that you want to bring your brother home, but what I am about to do is extremely dangerous. Since you have not awakened your powers yet, it would be unwise for you to come with me."

"All the more reason for me to go. Think of it as more training."

"Your body might not be able to take the strain. You were pushed past your limit today."

"I will continue to go past my limit till I have the strength to bring my brother home."

"Very well, you may come." Uryu conceded with a sigh.

 **Elijah's POV**

I slayed Hollow after Hollow with my partial release. I felt adrenaline pumping through me after each Hollow I defeated, making me search for more.

I was perplexed by my behavior, but at the same time, I didn't care. It was something that I would have to deal with later. Now, I needed to get as strong as possible, no matter what the cost.

My blackened blade sliced neatly through a bat shaped Hollow. It shrieked its window shattering shriek, then dissipated into nothing. The creature was pathetic and I was disappointed in the lack of a challenge.

"That was quite the performance, Mr. Parks." I heard clapping from behind me. I spun around and saw nothing but dark streets and alleys.

The sound of footsteps coming from an alley made me tense. Two people emerged from the shadows. One was a tall man dressed in a brown suit. The other was a petite girl not much older than I was in an ankle-length black dress.

"And who the hell are you?" I asked, my grip tightened around my blade.

"A friend." he replied with a smile. "One with an offer, I might add."

"What sort of offer?"

The man pulled out a card from his pocket and offered it to me. I hesitated at first, wary of the new guy. "Its not going to explode. You Americans are a very suspicious people."

"A guy I don't know comes up acting like he knows me. What's not to be suspicious about?" I replied.

The man ignored my question entirely he turned away slightly and looked at the stars. "I want you to tell me, why is your homeland the strongest?"

"What does that have to do with anything? What do you want?" I yelled, sick of the game this stranger was playing.

"It has everything to do with anything. What is it that has made your homeland the top dog? The one that people by the tens of thousands flock to?" I stood there in silence. I could practically feel the prod the man was tapping me with. "I guess I am going to have to answer my own question. The answer is clear, freedom. People want to do what they please. That is why your nation is the most powerful. Sure it has its problems. In fact, it has had some of the most despicable flaws a nation could have, but those flaws haven't stopped anyone from going there."

"I'm not following."

"You are doing the opposite of what most people want in life. You are coming from freedom and searching for oppression. You come here, searching for the power to free your mother, but you go about doing that by following those who would restrict you. You are an American, and you are letting someone else take charge. If you join the Vizard, you will give up your right to free your mother." the man walked closer. He took his card and placed it inside my shihakusho. "Call me when you make your decision."

The man turned and walked away. I pulled the card out of my robes. It was a simple business card it had a single word on it, Break. I flipped it over and found a phone number on it.

 **Christa's POV**

"It's close now. Be on your guard." Uryu warned.

"I'll be fine. Just tell me what to do."

"You stay here, Miss Parks. I will destroy the Hollow." Uryu replied before running into the middle of the park.

I sat in the bush and watched. The Quincy stood stalk still. Silence crept through the park. Not a cricket nor a dog could be heard. It was as if it were the calm before a large storm. The silence was interrupted by a skull piercing shriek.

Uryu had not moved an inch. He continued to wait for the perfect moment. That moment soon presented itself as a Hollow about the size of two story house rose from the nearby trees. A smaller being was running from the Hollow all while screaming for help. The Hollow saw Uryu and stopped.

"So hungry! So empty!" it roared, loosing all interest in the man it had been chasing.

Uryu summoned his bow in his hand. In a single, swift motion, he brought the bow up, aimed, and fired. The light blue arrow soared through the air and stabbed the Hollow directly in the mask. It screeched in pain, then slowly fell to the ground. The body shuddered then began to dissipate.

"T-that was a Hollow?" I asked slightly shaken by the enormity of the slain creature.

"I still have not regained all of my powers. That shot should have instantly destroyed the reishi bonds holding a weak Hollow like that altogether." Uryu muttered as he stared down at his hands.

"You aren't even listening to me!" I yelled from where I stood.

Uryu's head shot up and stared at me in horror. "Miss Parks get out of there!"

The color drained from my face as a shadow loomed over me. Before I knew what was happening a clawed hand swiped at me. I dove forward just in time for the claw to graze me on my back. I landed roughly on my stomach. I rolled over onto my back to see an ugly, hog-like mask staring down at me. Its two tusks curled out and around the bottom of its snout. Its body was built like a semi truck. It had extremely thick arms which reached to its knees. The muscle seemed to have muscle as it strode into center of the park. Its legs seemed to be a little small. In fact, the seemed to be like chicken legs compared to its arms, but they were still thicker than my entire body. Its torso was lined with heavy muscles that seemed to roll and ripple every time it breathed. The Hollow was an obvious powerhouse.

It roared and balled its clawed hands into a fist. I snapped my eyes closed and waited for the inevitable. The familiar sound of an arrow whistling filled my hearing.

Uryu had fired three arrows at the Hollow. It roared and swiped them out of the air. Uryu's eyes widened at the sight. The humanoid Hollow took advantage of Uryu's momentary pause and rushed at the Quincy. It tried to pierce Uryu with its razor like claws, but the Quincy just barely dodged the sudden onslaught. The Hollow did not give Uryu time to retaliate. It slashed with one hand while it punched with the other. This made Uryu even more wary. One hand had more reach while the other had more power.

Uryu was being pushed back. He jumped and dodged as much as he could, but the Hollow's unorthodox attack methods kept him from forming his bow. As the Quincy were long range fighters, Uryu had no way of attacking without putting himself in terrible danger of being sliced or pounded.

"I have to do something." I muttered as I watched the strange waltz.

I concentrated deeply. I had to form my own bow. If I didn't Uryu would die. That was not an option. I tried focusing on the shape of the bow. I could feel energy moving to my arms, but it wouldn't take shape. A cry of pain shattered my concentration. Uryu flew through the air and landed roughly on the ground. The hulking size of the Hollow loomed over Uryu.

"Leave him alone!" I yelled. My blood pressure exploded through the ceiling as anger overcame my fear. Energy began grow within me.

I lifted my arm and aimed it straight at the Hollow, just as the Hollow turned to look at me. A purple bow exploded from my hand. It was erratic and barely formed, but it was a bow nonetheless. In a single movement I drew back a white arrow. It started out as a normal size, but it quickly doubled, then tripled in size.

The Hollow roared as I loosed my first arrow. It charged straight for it. It brought its arm up as it charged, preparing to smash my arrow to the side like it had down with Uryu's. As it swung its arm, it screeched from sheer pain. The arm had been completely severed. Dark red blood oozed from the sudden wound.

I began to draw another arrow, but I suddenly began to feel weak. My strength had begun to slip. I fell to my knees, consciousness fleeing me. Before darkness could set in, a set of sandals appeared before me.

 **Elijah's POV**

"You seem like you might be a challenge. Let's make this entertaining." I said with a wolf's grin.

I had felt the Hollow before my pager had even registered it. I knew he would be tough, the sheer size was proof enough.. I frowned though when I saw that it was missing an arm. I'd have to find the guy who did that later.

The Hollow roared at me; the shriek ringing out in every direction. I rushed it before it finished its battle cry. My grip tightened on my blade as I readied to strike. Once close enough, I swung my Bowie knife upward. It caught the flesh on its chest but it wasn't deep enough for the kill. I had to cut my attack short as the pig-faced Hollow tried to hammer me down with its fist.

As soon as the fist touched the ground, I jumped on top of the creature and began to run up its arm. It tried to throw me off but my speed got me to the shoulder before it could.

I jumped from the shoulder blade toward the mask, knife in hand. The Hollow looked up as I turned my blade downward toward the mask. The Hollow quickly rolled its head to the side, but my knife still hit. Unfortunately, my blade sank deeply into one of the tusks on the mask. I was dangerously close to the creature's mouth. It tried to open its maw to snap at me, but I stayed just out of reach. I hung uselessly from the grip of my stuck sword.

The Hollow grew smart. With its remaining arm, it grabbed me around my waist. I held onto my blade as the pressure was pushing all of the blood to my head. The Hollow tried pulling me away, but my Zanpakuto acted like a fish hook, keeping the creature from pulling me away and ripping me apart.

The Hollow, being the Einstein that it was, pulled at me with all of his strength. I cried out as my bones began to creak from the stress. No matter the pain, I still held onto my sword. However the Hollow's attempts were not in vain. There was a glass-like shatter. I looked up to see that the tusk had been torn off. I smirked as I swung the tusk back at the Hollow's face. The piece slid off my sword with ease and smashed into its right eye. The Hollow's grip lessened as it bellowed in pain, allowing me to slip free of his hand. As I dropped, I made sure to leave a little gift. I plunged my blade into the thick skin of the thumb and let my weight drag me to the ground. I cut through bone, skin, and tendons, completely severing the digit from the hand. The Hollow screeched more as I landed.

"Alright, let's get this over with. You would have been good practice had someone not lopped off your other arm." I said with a smirk. The Hollow shrieked in defiance. "That's the spirit!"

I barreled toward the Hollow and with my Bowie knife in hand. I poured my reishi into my blade and activated my single ability provided by the blade. Blue, purple, red, then red and gray flashed as I shot myself forwards.

"Subete no Hanzai!" I yelled.

The Hollow froze in place, incomprehension filling its eyes. I smirked within my cocoon of reishi. My blade slid through the Hollow's mask. It let out one more cry before it began to dissipate into nothingness.

"Who are you?" a voice demanded.

"Just your friendly neighborhood Soul Reaper." I said with a chuckle.

"I can see that you are a Shinigami. My question was who are you. The Soul Society already has two shinigami here. You are not either of them." the sound of some kind of weapon humming reached my ears.

"Alright, I'm not with the Soul Society. I'm a freelancer." I replied, my tone turned icy. I turned slightly to see a boy with glasses and long dark hair staring at me. "One that shouldn't be trifled with."

"I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you." the boy said, aiming a blue bow of energy at me.

"Are you the one that took out that Hollow's arm?" I asked.

"What?" the boy asked out of surprise.

"I said, were you the one to took out the Hollow's arm. Was I speaking a foreign language?"

"No, that was not me. It was Miss Parks there." Uryu admitted.

"I see, well then I'm just going to have to fight… Wait, Parks?" I asked. I looked over at the fallen heap on the ground. I walked up to the body and bent down to get a better look. "Christa?"

The body began to stir. The head looked up and stared into my eyes. "Elijah!"

"Christa, what are you doing here? I told you I would handle everything!" I shouted.

"I… I came to bring you home. Please, Elijah, come home!" Christa said with a pained sob. That's when I noticed the wound on her back. Four large, diagonal cuts covered most of her back. Blood had been oozing from the wound, trying desperately to clot.

"You! We need to get her to a hospital!" I yelled at the boy.

"The closest hospital is ten miles from here. At the rate she is bleeding, she will never make it." the boy stated.

"Then get her somewhere where we can bind up her wounds!"

"We can take her to the Kurosaki Clinic its a five minute walk that direction." the boy replied as he and I lifted Christa up to in order to carry her.

"Lead the way." I grunted.

 **Christa's POV**

I began to see light peeking its way into my view. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying desperately to banish the unwelcome glow. Unfortunately, the sound of someone snoring completely ruined my rest.

I opened my eyes and began to study my surroundings. I was inside some kind of hospital room. I was in a hospital bed. There were a couple of chairs in the corner of the room. In one of the chairs was Elijah in his black robes, sword leaning against the wall next to him.

"Elijah, wake up." I whispered, suddenly finding the strength to crawl out of bed. I ached all over, especially on my back.

"Christa, what are you doing? You should be in bed!" Elijah said as he suddenly bolted awake.

"I feel fine," I mumbled. "So, you want to talk about what happened?"

"What's there to talk about. I've been training. Killing Hollows, getting stronger." Elijah replied dismissively.

"There's more to it than that and you know it. Why are you here? Why can't you let Mom rest in peace?" I began to shout.

"Because she was taken from us! It wasn't her time to go!" Elijah yelled back.

"Elijah, just come home! It was an accident! Mom, wouldn't want you to go down the path that you're going down."

"Christa," Elijah stood up and grabbed his sword from off the ground. "I'll see you later. If you are feeling better, then I need to get going."

"Elijah."

"I'm not going to argue with you. I have things I need to do. Be safe, and don't be playing with anymore Hollows." he said quietly as he reached the window.

"Fat chance of that." I muttered as he jumped through the window.

 **Elijah's POV**

I wandered around Karakura for a couple more hours. Several thoughts had burdened my mind. Thoughts of my sister being in Japan, thoughts of my mother, even thoughts of my father haunted my mind. All of these thoughts were chasing one another. I wanted to save my mom, but Christa could be at risk. If Christa got hurt, my dad would be in pain. It was a complete torture cycle. If one got hurt or died they all hurt.

' _Maybe, I need to just go home. Maybe Christa is right.'_ I thought.

' _What about the punishment that the Soul Society deserves? What about the crimes that they have committed? Can you just simply forget about all of those misdeeds?'_

I paused for a second, pondering what my Zanpakuto had said. _'I guess I wasn't really cut out for this. I didn't think my sister would show up, nor did I think that she would be a target. I mean, look at how she ended up after coming for me.'_

' _She was trying to stop you from doing the right thing. She thought you were too weak to complete your goal.'_ my Zanpakuto argued.

' _She doesn't think that at all. She is just worried about me!'_

' _You will see in due time. She will try to stop you by any means necessary. This, I promise you.'_ my blade growled.

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I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and I hope I am doing a good job characterizing the canon characters as this is the first story I have written with canon characters. If y'all have anything to say, be sure to leave a review or pm me. If you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button. This is shieldliger001, signing off.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys welcome back! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas/New Years break! I definitely did. In fact it was one of the best Christmas I have had in a long time. Anyways, on to the story!

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 **Tales of power and ambition and intrigue and betrayal and desire. When you're telling those in a big way, you automatically want to go to Shakespeare.**

 **Beau Willimon**

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 **Chapter 6**

 **Christa's POV**

"You mean I still have to go to school?" I yelled at the man standing in front of me.

Dr. Kurosaki had called Ryuken while I had slept. Uryu, had tried to stop him but the doctor insisted that Ryuken must be told about the accident. Ryuken made no effort to pick us up. Instead, he sent Mr. Yoritomo.

"Master Ishida gave me explicit instructions. To drive you to school. He said that you could not be trusted to reach the school grounds on your own."

"Doesn't he care that we got hurt? I mean look at us!" I said sweeping my arms for emphasis.

"Master Ryuken stated that had you not gone out and um… partied… all night, you would not have been in the accident, and that if you could stay out all night, then you could still go to school. I am sorry Miss Parks, I have no control over the situation."

"If they still have to go, why not let them walk with me?" a new voice asked. I spun around to see an orange haired teen staring straight into Yoritomo's eyes.

"Kurosaki." Uryu muttered with a hard stare.

"Ishida." the orange haired teen replied with a curt nod and a scowl.

"Well… I… well you see, Master Ishida would be very displeased if I didn't deliver Miss Parks there personally." Yoritomo stammered.

"Eh," Ichigo scowled. "You're telling me that you expect them to just jump up and make it to school. Do you know how many stitches my dad and sister had to put into her back alone?"

Yoritomo jumped at the sudden growl Ichigo's voice now carried. "No sir, I do not. If I don't get her to school, it could mean my job!"

"Are you going to be the one to stitch her back up if she opens her wounds?" Ichigo asked.

"As I am not a doctor, I do not believe that I would be qualified for such a task." Yoritomo admitted. Yoritomo then sighed. "If you feel like you must then I cannot stop you, nor can I force Miss Parks to come with me."

Yoritomo then walked outside. We waited for the sound of a car pulling away, but it didn't come. A second later, Yoritomo came through the door once more. This time, he was carrying a bag.

"This is your school uniform. You must wear it for class. We would not want for you to be dress coded on your first day, would we now?" Yoritomo said with a small smile.

"Thank you for everything." I said with a slight bow.

"Miss Parks, I am only doing my job. You do not have to thank me." Yoritomo said honestly. He then returned to the limo outdoors.

"We really didn't need your help, Kurosaki." Uryu stated.

"Seems to me that you and your English speaking friend did need some help." Ichigo replied. He walked to the door then stopped. "Well?"

"Well what?" I asked.

"Are you two coming or did I just waste my time?"

"We're coming, just let me get dressed right quick!" I said as I took off for the bathroom.

 **Elijah's POV**

"Where have you been?" Shinji asked as I sat in the middle of the training field.

"I've been here." I replied absentmindedly.

"Ya shouldn't lie, ya know. I saw you sneakin out last night." Shinji sat down next to me. He then began to smirk. "Did ya find ya any hot chicks?"

"Yeah, I…Shut the hell up! I wasn't looking after anyone!" I yelled as a blush flew into my cheeks.

"Don't tell me you were out killing Hollows all night. I told ya not to do that without one of us. Besides, that's the Soul Society's job not ours." Shinji deadpanned.

"So what if I did? It's not like you guys do anything" I yelled, anger spilling from my voice.

"Just going out and killing Hollows is a good thing, but it brings too much attention to us. Ya have to be extremely careful not to be found out. We're exiles because of what we are."

"So, you want me to be a good little soul reaper and do as you say, right?" I asked with pinprick eyes.

"Yeah, that's about right. In the meantime, you will be training with Hachi again. He wanted you to be, in his words, 'a well rounded individual in all forms of shinigami combat.'"

"In English?" I asked irately.

"Hachi was part of the Kido corp. In fact, he was the lieutenant. That means he will probably be teaching you Kido since that is the only thing you really haven't been shown, except for maybe shunpo." Shinji supplied.

"I would ask what Kido is, but I figure that Hachi will end up explaining it all to me." I muttered.

"Somethin up, kid?"

"Nah, I just have a lot on my mind." I replied.

"Alright, come on."

"What?" I asked out of surprise.

"We are going into town to get something to eat." Shinji replied. "Once a week, we all go into town to get a bite from one of the local restaurants. I'll tell the others that we are doing it today instead of Wednesday."

"And how would like me to order? You going to do it?" I asked as Shinji gave me a confused stare, allowing for me to continue my rant. "It would pretty funny really. 'And my friend here would like to have the Chow Mein.' Of course the waiter won't be able to see me and will look at you like you're nuts and call some loony bin to take you away."

"How annoying. Chow Mein is Chinese not Japanese." Shinji said shaking his head. "How long have you been out of your body?"

"I don't know, a couple of weeks?" I replied.

"Yep, it's time for ya to get back inside it. When a human becomes a substitute shinigami, they tend to act like pregnant women a bit if they don't return to their bodies every so often. Getting back to it should stop your mood swings." Shinji said with a large grin.

I nearly pounced on him right then and there, but something flew into the back of my head and knocked me forward. Uncontrolled laughter followed.

"You should really pay more attention to your surroundings ya dumb ass." Hiyori laughed.

"Good one. Nice to see that someone else gets treated as bad as me."

"Shaddup!" she yelled as she threw her other sandal at Shinji as hard as she could. Shinji sidestepped causing the throw to miss. Shinji smirk grew larger, until a large rock smashed into his face.

"What was that for, ya midget?" Shinji yelled, clutching his face.

"I told ya to shut the hell up!" Hiyori roared as she threw an even larger rock, this one hitting him in the forehead sending him backwards.

"Hiyori, enough. We need to leave soon if we want a table." Kensei said with his arms folded.

"Yeah, yeah, I was through anyways." she replied shooting Shinji a look that clearly read, 'don't mess with me, dumb ass.'

"Come on. Your body is over here." Love said as he waved for me to follow. We walked to the very edge of the training ground to a door that seemed like it led to a supply closet. "There you go just hop in and we will get you down."

"You shoved me in some closet?" I yelled. The door Love threw open led to exactly what I thought, a closet. My body was hanging by my shirt on a hook on the far wall. The closet was filled with more hooks and sharp blades and tools that looked like they were for torture. It basically looked like a torture chamber.

"It's not a closet, it's our equipment room." Love corrected.

"Equipment my ass! This place looks like it's from the dark ages!" I shouted.

"Just get in your body before I throw you in it!" Kensei shouted from behind, causing me to jump.

When I turned, I saw an evil glint in the corner of his eye. Fear filled my being as I scrambled for my body. I looked up at it for a second. It looked more or less like an empty shell.

"Hurry up! I'm starving!" Kensei roared.

True to his word, Kensei hoisted me into the air and threw me at the empty body. I screamed in terror as I flew through the air. I braced for the impact, but something else entirely different happened. I felt as if I was falling into a vat of rubber. My soul form began to merge with my real body. Arms attached to arms, legs attached to legs, and head attached to head.

"Ya might feel a little weird for an hour or so. Yer body hasn't been used in a while and ya are more powerful than ya were the last time ya used it." Shinji said.

I waved my arm as a test and it seemed extremely stiff. I tested my legs head and shoulders. All of which felt stiff and sore. I decided to do a few stretches, hoping to loosen up my muscles, but Hiyori had other plans.

"Get yer ass in gear! We are leaving now! We don't have time for any of yer crap!" she yelled directly in my ear.

"Ok, ok, just stop yelling in my ear!" I shouted back.

"Alright, let's go. Hachi, be sure to lock up when we leave." Shinji said as he turned to leave.

 **Christa's POV**

The walk from the clinic was uneventful. Uryu and I walked side-by-side, whereas Ichigo walked a little bit farther ahead of us. Ever since my abilities awakened when I was attacked, I was able to sense the energy a person had. It was part of the reason I got up so early today despite my injuries. There were so many powerful signatures in a single building that my brain was in a full overload. It was like listening to the radio or a TV that had no signal. It was pure white noise.

Uryu, Elijah, and three weaker pressures, made it hard to sleep, but Ichigo made sleeping impossible. The stoic teen seemed to not notice his affect at all. He made it hard to think much less to concentrate.

"This is going to be a long day." I muttered.

"Ichigo has that affect on people. We liken him to a leaky faucet since he has no control over his reishi. I suggest you try to block out any outside spiritual pressure."

"How would I do that?" I asked.

"Imagine that you are in a room by yourself. Think of every aspect of that room; every crack, creak of the floor, and every shred of light."

I did as I was told and concentrated. At first nothing seemed to happen. I still felt the overbearing weight of the energy around me. As I thought about my room though, I could feel the pressure lift and the noise to dissipate.

"Thanks, Uryu."

"Don't mention it, Miss Parks." Uryu replied.

A few more minutes passed before we made it to the front gate of the school. It was a large multi-floor building with sports fields on one side and several support buildings on the other side. The school crest glistened in the morning sun as students of kinds walked inside the building.

"Iiiccchhhiiigggooo!" a voice cried.

I turned to see that a teen about my age was barreling toward Ichigo with a stupid grin on his face. Ichigo didn't bother turning around. Instead, he held his arm out and performed a perfect clothes line. The teen's head snapped back as he fell on his back.

"Sup, Keigo." Ichigo said passively as he continued to walk toward the school.

"Really Mr. Asano, I do not understand why you continue to greet Ichigo like that. He does the same thing every morning. I guess that's why you are helpless with the ladies." a black haired teen said as he passed by, cell phone in hand.

"Come on, Mizuiro! You're supposed to be my friend!" Keigo yelled as he jumped up and ran after the other teens.

"Please say that they aren't in our class." I muttered.

"Unfortunately, they are. Try ignoring them. It seems to help." Uryu suggested as we walked inside.

We made it to class just before the bell rang. There was a middle aged woman standing in the front of our class. She noticed me right off the bat. As I entered she greeted me with a bow.

"You must be the new exchange student. I am Mrs. Ochi. If there is anything that you need just be sure to ask." the woman said in fluent English.

"Thank you ma'am." I said with a bow.

"It says here that Mr. Ishida will be helping you with your studies. I think it would be best if you sat next to him in the front row. Oh, but before you sit down, let's get you introduced to the class."

"Y-you really d-don't have to." I stuttered nervously.

"A little shy I see. Don't you worry, everyone has had to do this at sometime or another. There is some chalk over by the board. Go write your name on the board over there. Then we will begin class." Mrs. Ochi said as she directed me toward the chalk.

I bravely walked up to the board and wrote my name on it; completely in English. Turned ever so slightly and saw a group of kids in the back snickering. I blushed profusely.

"Class, today we have a new student. This is Christa Parks. She transferred here from the United States."

"What else is new?" someone from the back yelled in English.

"Mr. Toriyama, that is enough out of you." Mrs. Ochi reprimanded before continuing. "She knows very little Japanese. So, while everyone is in class, we will only be speaking in English. It will help with your foreign language studies as well as make her feel more comfortable. You will receive a grade based on how well you are able to speak the language."

There were audible groans from over half the class while many students seemed to be quite pale. I assumed those were the ones who couldn't speak English very well. Then there was the group that looked like they were about to murder me. I decided that it was best to steer clear of them.

"Christa, you may take a seat now."

Before I had a chance to sit down, a raven headed girl shot her hand into the air.

"Mrs. Ochi, is it alright if Christa sat next to me?" the girl said enthusiastically.

"I guess that is alright. Miss Parks you may take a seat next to Miss Kuchiki." I spotted the empty desk next to her and gingerly made my way forward. I quickly sat down shrinking into the said desk.

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki. It is a pleasure to meet you." the girl said with a large smile. She held out her hand for a hand shake. I looked down to see a note written on her hand.

'What are you?' it read.

"I'm, Christa Parks." I said quietly. I hesitated before adding after Uryu nod his head, "Quincy."

"Your from Quincy? Isn't that in New York? I have always wanted to got New York City. I hear that the women there are gorgeous!" the brown haired boy from earlier yelped.

"As if they would ever let you in the country Mr. Asano. They have very strict laws concerning perverts." the black haired teen replied, still texting away, albeit under a text book now.

"Says the guys who has his own harem!" accused Keigo as tears streamed down his face.

"I didn't know that you could speak English." Ichigo said as he turned to look at me from the other side of Rukia.

"Oh Ichigo, I am quite fluent in many languages. English is one of the easiest ones since a large amount of people speak it." Rukia replied with a creepy grin.

"Whatever, old maid." Ichigo muttered under his breathe as a vein popped from Rukia's head.

Suddenly there was a soft beeping from Rukia. She quietly pulled out a phone and stared at the screen. An evil grin formed on her face as she quickly smashed a fist into Ichigo's gut.

"Mrs. Ochi, I think Ichigo is feeling sick!" Rukia cried in her cheery voice.

"Oh, um, well you and Chad take him to the nurses office." Mrs. Ochi muttered as if trying to make sense of what happened to the student who was fine a second ago.

Chad, a very big and muscular Mexican, got up and picked Ichigo up and threw him over his shoulder. He and Rukia hurried out of the classroom.

"Yes, Mr. Ishida?" Mrs. Ochi said as she spotted Uryu's suddenly raised hand.

"Mrs. Ochi, Miss Parks left her school books in her locker. Is it alright if we fetch them?" Uryu asked.

"Alright, you may go." she said, but we were gone before she even finished. A second later, we heard her call after us. "Be sure to hurry back!"

"What are you doing? I had all of my books." I asked as we ran through the hallway.

"I was going to introduce you to my cohorts at lunch. However, I believe that it might be better if you met them while they take care of the Hollow."

We ran out the front door of the school and headed west. Uryu was directing me as we went to stay low until the threat was over. I thought it was rather hypocritical to drag me to the danger then tell me to stay away from the danger. Before I could voice my opinion, the shriek of a hollow ripped through the air.

It stood in the middle of the street. Wreckage had been strewn all over the place. It was as large as a house. It stood on bipedal legs, each the thickness of a tree. It it had two arms and a large, ivory mask that was shaped somewhat like a gorilla's skull. It pounded its chest with two fists the size of small cars. It then proceeded to run directly at Ichigo, who was now wearing black robes and carrying a large cleaver-like blade.

Ichigo yelled as he raised the sword above his head. "Getsuga Tensho!"

A blue wave of energy shot forward in the shape of a crescent. It smashed into the Hollow and neatly sliced it in half. The Hollow slowly began to dissipate as a white cloth wrapped itself around Ichigo's sword. He then placed it on his back.

"Rukia, are there anymore Hollows, or can we head back to class. And while we are on the subject, why the hell did you do that to me? I had Kon! He could have swapped with me!"

"Simple, you deserved it." Rukia replied as she let her hand slip to the hilt of her sword. Her next words turned deathly serious. "Someone's watching us."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to spy on you!" I shouted as I jumped up from my hiding spot behind a dumpster.

"It's you! You're that girl that was at the clinic this morning. Um, what was your name again?"

"Really, Kurosaki? You really are dense." Uryu stated with disdain as he too made himself known.

"You're the Quincy girl. Why did you follow us?" Rukia asked.

"Uryu dragged me out here so I could meet all of you." I replied.

"I see." Rukia said thoughtfully. "I am Rukia Kuchiki. Squad Thirteen of the Thirteen court guard squads."

"I'm Yasutora Sado." the Mexican said.

"But we all call him Chad. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute Shinigami." Ichigo interjected.

"I'm Christa Parks. I guess I'm a Quincy in training."

"So you aren't an actual Quincy?" Ichigo asked.

"No, not really. I just learned how to summon my bow." I replied meekly.

 **Elijah's POV**

"I knew you would call." the man from before said over the phone.

"I only called to tell you that I am not interested in whatever it is that you want me to do." I replied.

"I see. If that is how you feel, then I must use another means that will persuade you." the man sighed.

"What does that mean." I asked suspiciously.

"Are you free this afternoon?" the man asked.

"I'm with my friends." I replied.

"Meet me where we first met in ten minutes. Come alone."

"Fine, show me whatever you want. It won't change my answer." I replied.

"I think it will. We will be paying a visit to your sister."

 **Third Person POV**

"Have the transceiver programmed immediately. Be sure that all of the stages are set. I want everything to seem as really as possible." the man in an expensive suit said as he hung up the phone.

"Yes master. I take it that our candidate refused your offer?" a young woman in an ankle length black dress asked.

"Yes, however, there is already doubt inside his mind. The insider is planting the seeds. All we have to do is nurture them." the man replied as he rose from a large wing back chair.

 **Elijah's POV**

I told Shinji and the others that I was going on a walk. When they asked about it. I made up some excuse about wanting to explore town. They fell for it easily enough, though Shinji was a bit of a harder case to sell to.

I left the restaurant and made my way down the street. I remembered the man from earlier vividly. He was a hard person to forget. He also felt like he was extremely dangerous. When I was near him, I couldn't sense anything from him, but he set off alarms like a tornado.

"It is good to see you again, Elijah. I hope that I am able to persuade you to my side this time." the man said in the shadows of the alley.

"Don't count on it." I replied.

"I really must be vigilant this time. I wouldn't want to push you away."

"What is it that you want."

"To show you the truth your so-called friends don't want you to see." the man replied. He then grabbed me by the shoulder. "Teleport!"

There was a blinding flash of white light. I felt as though every molecule in my body was being torn apart. A second later the pain disappeared as though it never happened. I opened my eyes and saw a deep blue sky.

"The first time is always the hardest." the man said as he dusted off his left shoulder. "Morgan, how did your mission go?"

"Master, it went according to plan. My cloak was able to get me past the senses of the Substitute soul reaper and his friends. We are receiving audio now."

"Good. Turn it on and let us hear what they are saying." the man said as he handed me a pair of binoculars. "Right there, is the school your sister is attending while she attempts to bring you home."

I looked through the binoculars and true to his word. Christa was on the roof eating lunch. There were several others with her. Then I noticed two people in particular. The black haired midget girl and the tall orange haired teen!

"I'm trying to train so I can bring my brother home. If I can't reason with him, then I'll bring him back by force." I heard her say via the radio.

"You said he had a black Zanpakuto?" the carrot top asked.

"Yes." Christa replied.

"I think I know who you are talking about." the red-head said thoughtfully.

"If he is a threat to the Soul Society, we must alert the Head Captain at once." the black haired girl added.

There was some slight static for a second before Christa's voice came back this time it was extremely sad. "We can't let him get his way, even if that means I have to kill him."

"She is willing to kill me for not going home?" I asked as I took a step back in disbelief.

"It seems a little harsh but we cannot allow him to destroy what little balance remains." the black haired girl continued.

"If I can't persuade him to come home, then I want to be the one to finish this. He is my brother after all."

"You will need to get stronger. If what you say is true and he has only been a Shinigami for a couple of weeks, then he is growing almost as fast as Ichigo did when he first became a Shinigami." the boy with glasses added before the audio cut out.

"Unfortunately, that is what happens when the Soul Society is involved. They twist around ones desires then use them to get what they want. The Visored aren't any different. They plan on recruiting Ichigo Kurosaki. They want to use him to battle a traitor of the Soul Society. You see, the Visored were ordered to train you and to get you to fight for the Soul Society's cause! They have been lying to you from the very beginning."

"What proof do you have? They took me in when I had nowhere to go!" I yelled back bitterly.

"This is all of the proof you'll need." the man replied as he tossed me a recorder.

I caught it and pressed the play button. "Kurosaki is definitely one of us. His Hollow abilities are slowly consuming him from the inside." Shinji's voiced stated.

"You think he will come willingly?" Lisa asked.

"Probably not. From what I can tell, he is wary of newcomers. It will take some convincin." Shinji replied.

"If we can get him to team up with Parks, we would definitely have an advantage over Aizen when the time comes." Kensei added just before recording cut off. I began to tremble after the recording ended.

"What more do you want?" the man asked.

"Nothing. That's all I need." I replied bitterly. I felt betrayed; used.

"Does that mean you will be joining the organization?" the man asked.

"Yeah. I'll join." I replied quietly.

* * *

I hope y'all are enjoying the story. I am definitely having fun writing it. In fact, we are getting into the meat of the story now. Anyways, if y'all are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button. If y'all have anything to say be sure to leave a review or PM me. Also check out my YouTube Channel: Rougeliger. I do videos over several different games including Fallout 4, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty World War II

. This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	7. Chapter 7

What's up guys? Shield here back with another chapter! There still hasn't been any reviews or PMs so we can get straight into the chapter!

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 **Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.**

 **Pele**

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 **Chapter 7**

 **Elijah's POV**

The man and I walked down the streets of Karakura for about an hour. There were several things still bothering me. What was Break exactly, who was this man, and who else was in this "Organization".

"You have been quiet." the man stated.

"I'm just trying to figure things out." I replied. I was still trying to work up some courage to ask him my questions.

"I willing to bet that you have a lot of questions." the man said as if he was reading my mind. I stared at him in shock as the man laughed. "It really should not be that surprising. Were I in your place, I would have a lot of questions as well."

It took me a second to recover. I had an entire list of questions that I wanted to be answered. I mentally prioritized them then picked the one I thought was most important.

"Who are you guys, really?" I asked slowly.

"Starting off with the long ones I see. Very well, Break is an organization of businessmen that have a vested interest in what happens in the Soul Society."

"What a load of crap. Why would a bunch of businessmen be interested in the afterlife?"

"Good, you are not stupid. Break is led by the Supreme Twelve with me being the chairmen. The truth is that every member of the Supreme Twelve is a businessman or woman. However we are not interested in the goings-on of the Soul Society. We want to pass through it if possible, or invade it if need be. You see, we are not from this world. We are from a world similar to this one. It is actually almost identical to this one except for one thing. Magic is nearly everywhere there. Every man, woman, and child can perform it if they so desired. It was a staple of life. Our technology was powered by magic, wars were fought with it, peace distributed new spells and techniques. Groups of mages and wizards would gather into organizations and help the populace with jobs; everything from repairs to monster hunting. It was truly a wonderful place to live. That is until they came."

"The Soul Society at the time was just becoming the organization that it is today. They had scores of scientist researching new ways of exterminating Hollows. They were slowly losing the endless war. That is until they accidentally found a way to use their Senkaimon to enter our world. At first, we greeted the newcomers with open arms. They saw our abilities and asked if they could learn from us. The government of my country agreed and sent my ancestors with the Soul Society representatives. At first glance it seemed that there would be a blossoming relationship between the two worlds, until they refused to let us leave. When we stopped cooperating with our captors, they decided that we would make better test subjects. Their scientist began to study our people. They dissected us and tortured us. That was until my distant ancestor made the decision to rise against our captors. We slaughtered anyone who stood in our path and made our way to the Senkaimon. Our numbers started out at five hundred but quickly dwindled to about two hundred wizards. We activated the Senkaimon and ran through, hoping to find our homes waiting for us. Instead, we found Earth. We had not realized that someone had to switch the destination for us."

"The Soul Society didn't immediately follow us. We were grateful for that. We found that this world also had an abundance of magic, however the practitioners of the arts had been destroyed out of fear. We traveled from settlement to settlement trying to help the native population. This world had many of the same problems ours did, and soon, we were doing what we did best, but that to came crashing down. The Soul Society had created an entirely new branch of its military. The Kido Corp. They had taken what they learned from us and adapted it to their powers. Kido is essentially the same as magic, except that it is powered by reishi instead of nature and emotion. It is primitive and even a skilled user may still have to use the incantations to cast the spells, but it did its job. Ten years after our escape, a mix of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the Kido Corp came after us. Our people were hunted down and destroyed. The culling lasted up until the 1600s when the Salem witch trials were held. Even today we must operate in secret out of fear that the Soul Society will eradicate us."

"Now, you think that you can take them on, and you need my help."

"Yes and no. You are crucial to our plan to enter the Soul Society. Only a soul reaper can open a Senkaimon from this side of the gateway. I will be blunt. That is the only reason we need you. After you are able to open the portal to the Soul Society, you are free to save your mother, in fact, we encourage you to do so. Nobody should have to suffer like we have. You may even come with us and see the fruition of your work if that is your heart's desire."

"Alright, but I want you to do a couple of things for me." I replied.

"Continue."

"I want to learn some of your magic. Hachigen was going to teach me Kido, but that won't be happening now that I'm not with those scum."

"That can be arranged. What are the other conditions?"

"I want to gain the power of a Hollow as well. The stronger I am, the more likely that I will be able to save my mother. Finally, there is a certain Hollow that I would like to fight. It humiliated me and I can't allow it to live after that."

"Your third condition will be a simple task. However, the second one will prove to be more difficult."

"Can you do it?" I asked darkly.

"It will be a challenge, but I am confident that we will be able to incorporate a Hollow into your soul." the man said with a confident smile.

"You know, I really don't know your name." I said.

"My name is Levi Stregone, Head Director of Break and Chairmen of the Supreme Twelve."

"Elijah Parks, son, brother, and avenger."

 **Christa's POV**

The first day of school was rather chaotic. We killed two Hollows before lunch was over and a third during classes. I was having a hard time with my lessons due to the constant distractions from Hollows and Ichigo's spiritual pressure. Uryu noticed this and decided that I should try to raise my spiritual pressure to its max. I did so and it did take some of Kurosaki's pressure off of my shoulders. However, it didn't last long as my reserves were quite small.

Finally, class had ended and I was able get away from the overwhelming power. I was amazed by how the others seemed completely unaffected. I figured that it came with time. My mind began to wander towards Elijah as we headed home. It saddened me that he had no intention of coming home. I shook my head as if to try and clear it. Then continued with Uryu back to the manor.

When we arrived, we were given instructions to go immediately to the hospital. Though we had battled the night before and several times during school, we were still expected to train afterwards as well. It irritated me at first, but after a moment I figured that it really wasn't worth getting upset about. After all, I was the one that volunteered for this.

We made it into the underground training area and immediately entered into battle stances. The first volley of arrows shot out at us from the shadows, catching me off guard. Uryu easily dodged the volley, however, I had a bit more difficulty. Most of the arrows missed however, one managed to skim my leg. It burned slightly, but didn't cause any permanent damage.

"You most definitely have improved Miss Parks. Nevertheless, you are still far from mastering even the simplest of Quincy abilities." Ryuken taunted as he unleashed another volley of arrows from the other side of the room.

"Don't underestimate me!" I yelled as I out my left hand. The bow shot out from my outstretched hand. It was erratic and looked as though it might explode, but it held.

"You foolish girl, you must refine the power you are pouring into that abomination. If not, it fail altogether." Ryuken detested.

He made a direct effort to destroy my bow with a single arrow. He fired it before I could even react. The arrow collided with my hand. I screamed as the searing pain shot through my arm. I opened one of my eyes a peek. It was my only way to show my defiance of the callous man. I opened the other eye, now trying to give him a glare that would make him rethink how he treated others. Of course I doubt much would happen. When I finally caught him in the eyes, his look was one of pure shock.

"I didn't think I could actually shake him." I grumbled. I then noticed where he was looking. My bow was still in my hand though it had grown to be about five feet tall and was quite a bit less erratic.

"I must confess to being surprised. I thought your bow was immature. It appeared the very same as it had last night. However, it is now clear that you have a fundamentally different bow than Uryu's and my own." Ryuken said as he dispelled his weapon.

"You have what is known as a Seelentoter bow. It is a weapon for those that have a close connection to a Shinigami. As Shinigami are our mortal enemy, you can see why there are so few with these weapons." Ryuken explained.

"What exactly does that mean?" I asked.

"The word Seelentoter roughly translates into soul slayer. It is similar to the Zanpakuto in that it has the ability to purify souls. It also has many other similarities such as the ability to be released into two different forms." Ryuken explained as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette carton. "I must confess that this is the first time I have ever seen such a weapon."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because, if you possessed that bow, it meant that you were instantly executed. It is created through a bond between a Shinigami and a Quincy such as a marriage or in your case a sibling. Such bonds are taboo." Uryu replied pushing up his glasses.

"Then why don't you have one of these, Uryu?" I asked coyly.

"Why would I possess such a bow. I have no bonds with a filthy Shinigami." Uryu rebuked.

"The way you and Ichigo fight, I would have that you two were married." I replied with a smirk.

"I resent that accusation! Kurosaki is a completely fool! He wouldn't be able to remember his own name if it weren't pounded into his thick skull!" Uryu yelled.

"Fine, but I hear that there was a Shinigami in the Soul Society that caught your eye. Rukia was telling me about you two back when you were were trying to save her during fifth period." I said with a smirk.

"I… you little… I deny that wild claim!" a flustered Uryu stammered.

"Enough, we must continue your training. Uryu, we will discuss this breach of etiquette at a later time." Ryuken snapped. Uryu shot me a glare, causing me to giggle.

 **Elijah's POV**

"The first thing you must do to learn the ways of magic is to relax. You must be in tune with the element that you chose to control."

"Can't I learn different types of magic?" I asked.

"Most wizards only learn a single type. The reason being is that learn one element is a difficult process. Mastering just the basics of another is next to impossible when you are so in tuned with your original element. That is one of the weaknesses to our magic. For example, a fire mage would be at a disadvantage to say a water mage."

"Kind of like Pokémon right? Fire beats grass, grass beats water, and water beats fire." I replied.

"If a children's game helps you with your training, so be it." Levi said with a shake of his head. "The three most prominent types of magic are elemental magic, creation magic, physics magic. Elemental magic is the most common type of magic and the most versatile as it can take attributes from both creation and physics magic. What it lacks is the fact that it can be easily countered by another magic; fire is beat by water."

"Creation magic, also known as maker magic, is more or less a subcategory of elemental magic. It allows you to create objects or creatures based on the element of your affinity. It is different from elemental magic as you have to have a firm grasp on magic and a large imagination."

"Finally, physics magic is the rarest of the three types. It changes aspects of the world while in combat. It allows some to control their strength, speed, and even their weight. Other users use it to bend the laws of nature, allowing them to control gravity, density, and even time itself. This type may seem to be the most powerful of the three types, however it has strict limitations. You can not just crush a ten mile radius with overwhelming gravity, nor can you give yourself the strength of one hundred elephants. These are the types of magic that Break are able to use. All three are a sub category of caster magic. In our world, there are two others known as holder magic and the lost magics, but those can only be used in our world because it is impossible to recreate here in this world with its lack of practioners."

"So, how do I figure out what my affinity is?" I asked.

"You have to concentrate deep into your soul. Ask yourself, what type of person you are? Describe yourself. Are you cool and collected or do you prefer to rush into battle head on. Have you ever been overly fascinated with one type of element or have you fallen in love with science? Are you a creative thinker or do you continue to do what has proven to work in the past? Answer those questions and you will find your affinity." Levi said as he got up and walked to the door of the small room we were in. "You will not be allowed to leave this room. Until you have found your answers. Only with clarity will you be able to move forward."

 **Levi's POV**

I left the room and closed the door behind me. Walking down the hallway, I couldn't help but to smile. The plan had been set in motion. We would be returning home, and taking revenge for all those years of mistreatment. Elijah Parks was the key in more ways than one. If he could learn magic then he would be a formidable opponent for the Soul Society, and, if he was affluent to the right kind of magic, he could be the one needed to open the gates back to our world.

"Master Levi, the preparations have been completed. The locator spell will be ready to use at anytime."

"Very good Morgan. Once Elijah has learned the basics of his magic, we will locate the Hollow he wishes to defeat, and we will seal it inside." I said with a light smile.

"Master Levi, would you like for us to begin the spell?" Morgan asked timidly.

"You may begin without me. I have to make preparations for Mr. Parks' training." I replied.

"Master, do you really plan to have the boy come with us?"

"What would make you ask such a question?"

"He could be very valuable to us. However, he is a wild card. I do not trust that he will be completely on our side. With all due respect sir, I fear that you are taking too large a risk."

"Do you know why I picked him as the key?" I asked.

"You did not share all of your reasons with me, sir." Morgan replied quietly.

I chuckled a little. "We could have easily picked somebody that was easier to control. Hell, we could have created our own key. However, this boy automatically fits all three of our criteria. He contains the heart to learn and successfully wield magic. He is compatible with the Eclipse Seed. Finally, he is human, meaning he won't be bogged down by any of the politics that seem to make the Soul Society run."

"Sir, just because he is compatible with the Eclipse Seed, doesn't mean that he can master Eclipse magic. All of the mages here have tried and failed. Many of whom, lost there magic powers for well over a year."

"Morgan, the Eclipse Seed rejected the others. They were never truly compatible with the Seed. I do believe that I warned against anyone trying to use the seed. It needs someone who does not come from our world. That is why Mr. Parks is the one who must grasp this magic. Eclipse Seed magic is the only true lost magic from this world. It was created by dozens of wizards eons before our time, even before our time on this world. With it, he will not even need to power of a Hollow." I sighed as her persistence began to fray my nerves.

Morgan began to argue once again, but was interrupted by the panicked voices of a low level mage. My anger flared at the sight of the worthless maggot, but I kept myself in check.

"I beg pardon, Chairmen." the man began. "Elijah Parks has been yelling from the meditation chambers for several minutes. He keeps yelling about the Seed!"

"I see." I replied with a small smile. "It calls to him. Bring the seed at once. It is time to begin implanting it within him."

 **Elijah's POV**

The meditation began as boring as one would think. That is until a couple of minutes into it. I felt as if someone was screaming in my head. The words Eclipse, Ragnarok, Apocalypse, and End would flash in my mind. A vision of a large crystal would appear throughout the dream. I couldn't bear the dark images I was seeing. Visions of destruction, death, disease, and hungry accompanied the images.

Suddenly, the door had burst open. Three individuals stood in the doorway. Levi was the lead and I could see the girl from before standing behind him. The third seemed to be some kind of guard.

"What did you see?" Levi asked darkly, his face invisible from the light from behind him.

"I kept seeing something that looked like a crystal. Then I would hear the words Eclipse." I started, panting heavily. I began to tell Levi everything I saw.

"I see. It seems that you have a rare gift. You seem to be compatible with Eclipse magic." the man said quietly as he dug through his jacket. He pulled out what looked like a crystal of some sort. "This is the Eclipse Seed. It is the only item that will allow you to learn Eclipse magic."

He tossed the crystal lightly to me. I caught it easily and turned it into my hand. It was a pitch black crystal with a very deep orange around the edges. The crystal's shape was not particularly special as it really looked like a large hunk of rock.

"How do I use it?" I asked.

"The same way that you found your affinity. If you meditate with the crystal it will unlock the knowledge you are searching for. You will be able to learn the spells that it contains. However, you will not be able to use them without training. That is where Morgan comes in. She will teach you everything you need to know to use your magic." Levi replied.

"Alright, I guess I'll be in here a while." I said with a sigh. Levi nodded then left. He shut the door behind him. I began to concentrate on the crystal. I wasn't just a Soul Reaper anymore. I was also a mage.

 **Christa's POV**

It had been several days since we found out about my bow. Ryuken decided to change my training so that I would be learning how to shoot my bow. Uryu continued with his own training, and had made great strides within the few days we trained.

School was also becoming easier. I could go throughout the entire day without feeling weak because of all the spiritual pressure in the room. I was even beginning catch on to some Japanese. Though that was mostly due to Ryuken ordering all of the servants to speak only Japanese to me.

School was actually a lot like my old school we had class periods and we learned most of the same subjects. When they had their foreign language classes, they were using English while I was learning Japanese. It was weird hearing your native language being called foreign.

Throughout the day, I would see Ichigo and Rukia disappear from class. Sometimes they would come straight back and other times they would be gone for an hour or two. After a few days, I would join them and Uryu on a Hollow hunt.

As the days passed, I began to go on Hollow hunts more frequently. I found it funny that Ichigo disliked missing class to fight Hollows. If I had a choice, I would rather fight an entire hoard of Hollows than take an Algebra test.

By the end of the week, I was able to take on low level Hollows with relative easy. I still had to go with someone in order to make sure there wasn't something there I couldn't handle. I was starting to think that I might actually be strong enough to bring Elijah home. The only obstacle was finding him.

Now, I was walking through the hallways of school. I was actually deep in thought when I slammed straight into somebody. I fell backwards on the ground. I looked up to see Ichigo standing in front of me.

"Oh, hey Christa." Ichigo said as if nothing had happened.

"Ichigo, you idiot! How can you not have learned already that when you knock a girl over you should help her up!" Tatsuki yelled. "First Orihime, and now Christa? Who's next? Rukia?"

Though I really haven't talked much with Tatsuki, I saw that she was very protective of her friends. She would let anything happen to them even if it was just an accident.

"I'm sorry, ok?" Ichigo said with a scowl as if he didn't see how it was his fault. He helped me up and I brushed myself off.

"There's no need to be sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." I replied cheerfully.

"He still should have helped you up." Tatsuki said indignantly.

"I did help her up!" Ichigo retorted.

"Without being told! Hasn't anyone taught you common courtesy?"

"Whatever, we have to go to class." Ichigo said, his scowl deepening if that was even possible.

Class started out normally. We were learning about the Edo period in our history class, but halfway through the lesson, Ichigo's badge began to beep. His face furrowed as he pulled out a strange pill and popped it into his mouth.

"Don't do anything stupid, or you'll stay with Yuzu for month." Ichigo said.

I looked at him with a stunned expression. There were two Ichigo's now; one was dressed like a Soul Reaper the other in his school uniform. I didn't get to ask as Ichigo and Rukia both disappeared from sight. A few minutes later, Ichigo and Rukia reappeared. Ichigo used his badge on his body and the pill came right out.

"He didn't do anything did he?" Ichigo asked me.

"No, he didn't even look at me." I replied.

"Good, Kon can be quite the pervert. I guess he really is scared of my little sister." Ichigo said to himself mostly.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Kon is an artificial soul. He takes care of my body when I need to take care of hollows. I hadn't had him with me this last week because he decided to run away."

"If he is just a pill, how did he run away?" I asked.

"It's a long story." Ichigo grunted.

"Alright then, who gave it to you?" I asked.

"Uryu tell you about the Urahara shop yet?" Ichigo asked. I shook my head. "Kisuke Urahara is the owner of this hole in the wall candy shop. Turns out he was once a Shinigami. He trained me when I went to save Rukia. His shop also serves as a black market of sorts as he tends to have items that are questionable at best. The guy's a lunatic."

"Do you think that I could meet him?" I asked. I looked over at Uryu who seemed to grow paler, if that was even possible.

"I guess." Ichigo replied. "I have a question to ask him anyways."

"I will accompany you as well." Uryu stated.

"I figured as much." I muttered.

"Orihime, Chad, are you two coming as well?" Ichigo asked.

"Sorry, Ichigo, but I told Tatsuki that I would go to her house today." Orihime apologized.

"Can't, sorry." Chad replied.

"Alright then, I guess it's just us!" I said excitedly.

"This is the Urahara shop? What a dump." I said as I stared at the candy store.

It looked almost as though it were abandon. It was in a back alley behind several larger and cleaner buildings. There was a little black haired girl and an even shorter red head. Sweeping the porch.

"What do you want? And who's she?" the red head asked us as he swung his broom over his shoulder.

"Is Mr. Hat-n-Clogs in?" Ichigo asked.

"Hey! You can't ignore me!" the boy yelled as he swung his broom at Ichigo. The broom never made contact as a giant of a man grabbed the boy and held him in the air.

"We do not threaten our customers; do you understand, Jinta?" the giant asked with a dark gleam in his eyes.

"Yes sir!" Jinta yelped.

The man, satisfied with Jinta's answer turned toward our group. "This Boss is inside."

"Thanks." Ichigo said as he led us inside.

 **Elijah's POV**

"This seems kind of backwards. Shouldn't I learn the basics before going straight into a sparring match? And where is that one girl at? I thought she was supposed to train me?" I said as I looked around the small arena we were now in.

"`Normally yes, but since you are now an Eclipse mage, and you learned from the Eclipse Seed, you should know the how to perform your magic through instinct. Mistress Morgan had another engagement she had to attend to and asked for me to train you in her stead." my partner said.

My sparring partner was a frail looking boy that was maybe a year younger than I was. He was almost pasty with black hair. His glasses made his eyes nearly invisible. He was also extremely short only a little over five feet tall. He wore a light blue button up shirt and a pair of khaki pants. He looked like a bully magnet to be frank.

"So what are the rules? Cliff was it?" I asked.

"It's Clint. The rules are simple. You are allowed to use any and all magic powers against me, however you are not allowed to use your Shinigami powers."

"Gotcha, this should be easy." I said with a smirk.

"I doubt it." I heard Clint say. "You may have the first move."

I immediately got into one of the poses the Seed had shared with me. It started as a horse stance then I placed both of my fist together, knuckle touching knuckle.

"Eclipse Seed: Shih!" I yelled as I felt a rush of energy.

A shadow lurched forward from me and headed for my opponent. I was almost ecstatic when I saw that the spell made contact. Then the spell seemed to just frizzle out.

"Oh come on!" I yelled out of frustration.

"That was pathetic on so many levels. How were you ever compatible with the Seed?" Clint said. I watched as the person I thought was Clint began to melt! "Like it? I'm an Earth Sculpture mage. I can can sculpt anything I want and make it into reality. For example, that was a clone of me."

"I am so screwed." I muttered.

"Earth sculpt: Golem!" Clint yelled.

The ground suddenly began to rumble. A gigantic hand forced its way out of the ground. The hand became an arm which eventually began to pull itself out of the ground. Soon the entire creature had unearthed itself. It stood about nine feet tall and was completely made of clay. It was mostly humanoid with almost every feature an exact copy of the human body. Its hands and feet were disproportionate even for its size, being far larger than they should have been.

The Golem charged at me before I could think of what to do. My improved reflexes allow for me to dodge an incoming punch just in the nick of time. The punch landed directly where I had been standing and shattered the ground beneath. With superhuman speed, the Golem was already bearing down on me. With no time to dodge, I just covered my face with my arms, but the blow never came.

"It seems that you will have to undergo more training than I anticipated." Levi said as he walked toward me. "Clint, this match is over now."

"Yes Master Levi." the boy replied.

"I hadn't expected this. The Seed was supposed to teach you how to perform every Eclipse magic spell and yet you could not even use the most basic spell." Levi said to me.

"I know how to perform them. I just have no idea how to activate them!" I replied.

"I see. Clint, you will instruct Mr. Parks in the ways of magic. You have one week. Do not fail me." Levi said darkly.

"Yes, Master Levi. We will begin immediately." Clint said with a slight bow.

* * *

I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to create a new group in Bleach and Break is the end result! I wanted something that no one has done before. As far as I know, no one has down a Bleach story with wizards and mages yet! You may have noticed that their abilities are very similar to another franchise. Trust me there is a reason! Anyways, if you have anything to say be sure to leave a review or PM me. If you are enjoying the story be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! Also check out my YouTube Channel: Rougeliger. I do videos over several different games including Fallout 4, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty World War II! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! I'm back! I know that it has been a while since I posted. I have been busy looking for a job. It has been slow going, but I think I finally found. Anyways, on to the story!

* * *

 **There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.**

 **Ronald Reagan**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Christa's POV**

"You must be Miss Parks! I have heard a lot about you!" a man in a green kimono said with a wave of a green and white fan. "Oh how rude of me. I am Kisuke Urahara, owner of this fine establishment."

"Fine establishment my ass!" I heard Ichigo yell irately.

"This is probably one of the most crooked operations I have seen." Uryu added.

"Now, now, Mr. Kurosaki, Mr. Ishida, we wouldn't want Miss Parks here to get the wrong idea." Kisuke replied with a wide grin and another wave of his fan.

"Ichigo said that you trained him. This place seems to be a little small for training." I commented ignoring the earlier banter.

"Indeed I did. Though I didn't do it in here. Follow me." Kisuke said as he headed deeper into the store.

I followed him until he turned the corner. When I followed him into the next room, he was gone. I looked around out of surprise, but didn't see anything.

"Down there." Ichigo said as he pointed to a trap door that was poking out from under a rug. I sighed as I opened the door and begun the climb down.

It must have been about a hundred feet down because I was exhausted when I finally reached the bottom. I looked around the large cavern out of shock and awe. It was enormous! I could barely see the other wall. It was also very bright and the ceiling looked like an honest to goodness blue sky.

"Wow! Who knew that there was all this space under my little shop? This definitely wasn't here a week ago!" I heard Kisuke shout. I had to admit that the guys was really starting to irritate me.

"Shut up! You did the same routine to me when I first came here!" Ichigo yelled, while Uryu just shook his head.

"Mr. Urahara," I began. "Is there anyway that you you can train me here after school? I have been training with someone else, but he is a lot less friendly than you are."

"You can come and train here anytime you want Miss Parks, however, I am ill-suited to train a Quincy. I know that Mr. Ishida there can be quite the downer..." Uryu sent an arrow straight by Kisuke's head and nearly took out Kisuke's hat. "That was a close one. I see that you are regaining your powers nicely."

"So will you teach me?" I asked.

"Miss Parks, I am but a humble shop owner. I would think that someone else would be more qualified to teach than me." Kisuke replied as he waved his fan some more.

"Look, you trained Ichigo; so you must be strong." I insisted.

"Those were just little warm-up exercises. I assure you that there was nothing special about it."

"Warm-ups my ass! You tried killing me three different times!" Ichigo interrupted.

"Mr. Kurosaki, I know that you think I am a lunatic, but I promise that I would not have put through all that if I didn't think you had at least a fifty fifty shot at surviving."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ichigo demanded.

"If you are unwilling to to teach me, could I at least spar with you? I have to get stronger if I am going to save Elijah." I pleaded.

"Elijah is you brother correct?" Kisuke asked. I nodded in response. "I see! Then I don't mind in the least. Since you don't need to regain any Shinigami powers, we can skip steps one and two. Just be warned that I will not go easy on you.

"Thank you, Mr. Urahara." I replied with bow.

"Miss Parks, is this wise?" Uryu asked out of concern.

"Of course it isn't! Mr. Hat-n-Clogs nearly killed me during this training regime!" Ichigo said with a hand on his face.

"You survived so I am sure that I can as well!" I replied cheerfully.

"Now Miss Parks, your only goal is to try and knock off my hat." Kisuke said.

"That's it? This is going to be easy!" I cheered. I then saw an evil gleam in Kisuke's eyes. I instantly regretted my decision.

Kisuke drew a sword out of his cane. It was a thin blade with the cane's handle as the sword's handle as well. I blinked and he was gone. I blinked again and he reappeared, ready to hack me to pieces. I ducked just as the thin blade swung through the space my neck had been moments ago. While I ducked I snuck a look behind me. Ichigo and Uryu was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry Christa! We will root for you all the way back here!" Ichigo called from the other side of the cavern, I could barely make out Uryu standing next to him.

"Never take your eyes off of an opponent, Miss Parks." Kisuke said as he slashed again, this time, from the right. I threw myself to my left and dodged the blade.

'I have to get away! I don't have enough time to summon my bow!' I thought as I rolled from a third blow. This one hit the ground and shattered it like glass. Kisuke, like he did with Ichigo, was trying to kill me.

Our dance lasted for several minutes. I would dodge, jump, or duck while Kisuke would slash, stab, and slice. I was getting nowhere and I was getting tired. Finally, I caught a break when I managed to kick some dirt into Kisuke's eyes.

"Very good, Miss Parks. You have effectively blinded me." he said as he jumped back a few feet.

I didn't say a word as I summoned my bow and finally retaliated. I shot a large arrow toward Kisuke. Like clockwork, he dodged the bolt with minimum difficulty. I continued my assault, firing arrow after arrow until my fingers started to hurt. Every time I fired, Kisuke would disappear from view. I knew he wasn't teleporting since I could still feel his reishi, that meant that he was moving at speeds faster than I could imagine. Hitting him was like swatting a bullet out of the air with a flyswatter.

An instant after I fired another arrow, Kisuke appeared in front of me. He swung his sword down at me which I tried to block with my bow. At first I thought that the blade would go right through. Thankfully, it did not. Kisuke was trying to force me to the ground. I gritted my teeth as my knees began to buckle. Then a thought came to me. During the struggle, I began to form another arrow. Everything happened in an instant. I released the arrow and it zoomed into the air. To my relief, the hat flew off from the sudden gush of air. Kisuke immediately eased his weight off of his blade and relaxed.

"Very good, Miss Parks. I didn't expect that you would have grown this strong so quickly." Kisuke praised behind his fan. He then walked to where his hat had landed and placed it back on his head.

"I'm pretty used to people trying to kill me." I replied thinking back to Ryuken. "Although, this is the first time I have fought someone that is as fast as you. It was luck that I managed to get that hat off."

"I wouldn't say that. You did very well for your first time fighting a Shinigami." Kisuke replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "Though quick thinking did win you this victory, You need to improve on your summoning time. It was taking far too long for you to counter my attacks. Of course I am just a simple business owner! I really don't know what I'm talking about!"

"Cut the crap! She already knows what you are!" Ichigo yelled as he and Uryu walked back up.

"Must you shout in my ear, Kurosaki?" Uryu asked irately.

"You got a problem?" Kurosaki asked, causing me to shake my head.

"If you must know, I do! Your yelling is very annoying!" Uryu barked back.

I ignored their bickering and turned back to Kisuke. "I have some questions if you don't mind me asking."

"It is no bother." Kisuke replied.

"You know about my brother, right?"

"I have heard a few things. All of it are rumors and hearsay. I can't say that I have anything concrete!" Kisuke replied almost too cheerfully.

"What's his plan? Do you know that much?"

"I can't say that I do, but I do know that some friends of mine are taking good care of him! He is perfectly fine." Kisuke replied.

"Alright, then." I sighed. "We better get going. Lord knows that I don't want to be late to training again."

"My father does take pride in making things as difficult as possible." Uryu agreed.

 **Third Person POV**

Kisuke watched as the group left the training area. Ichigo took the lead while Christa and Uryu followed. He knew that Christa would wait for him to come up, but he waited so he could think about the situation. The former captain was deep in thought and didn't notice when the giant of a man, Tessai was standing behind him.

"Do you think the girl will be a problem, boss?" Tessai asked.

"No, not her. Her brother on the other hand..." Kisuke didn't finish his sentence.

"His is the boy that the Vizard found correct?"

"Yes, and I am beginning to wonder about that. I think we will need to keep a close eye on him and that Zanpakuto of his." Kisuke replied.

"I get the sense that something dark will happen to that girl." Tessai said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Yes, she and her brother both. However, I think she will pull through. I can't say that about her brother. He had been tainted by something far more dangerous than a Hollow."

 **Elijah's POV**

I am just going to say it. Meditation sucks! I sat in a dark room for hours as Clint lectured me in the ways of grasping magic. The lectures lasted through most of the time we had spent.

Finally, after the sixth hour, we took a break. Clint led me to the cafeteria where I ate some lunch while Clint continued his tutoring. When I said break, I meant that I was about to break Clint in half. Every now and then I could feel myself reaching for my Zanpakuto. Oblivious to the fact that I wanted to kill him, he began discussing the history of magic from their world and the history of magic in this world.

Finally, after the boring details, he finally got to part about using magic. It basically had three steps for beginners, two steps for intermediates, and a single step for advanced users. The first step was meditation. For beginners, you had to clear all thoughts out of your mind. This was only part of the first step as you had to also find your power and pull it to the surface. Clint had yet to explain that part. The second step was reciting the enchantment that released the spell. This was pretty self explanatory you had to memorize the spell that you were using to activate it. The last step was to activate the spell, take aim, and try not to miss. Beginners had to use all three steps. Intermediates used the last two; while advanced mages used only the last one. If I were to rate myself on a scale of one to three, I would say that I would be a zero plain and simple.

"Do you have any questions?" Clint asked me as I mulled over the information.

"Yeah, where's the bathroom?" I asked absently. I thought Clint was about to choke on his glass of water.

"It's over there." he coughed.

"Thanks." I said as I got up. "And Clint? When I get back you are going to show me exactly how to pull out my magic. No gimmicks and no games, understand."

"I want another match with you using your Shinigami powers. If I beat you, you do things my way." Clint said.

"And if I win?" I asked.

"I have a few tricks that helped me master the first step pretty easily." Clint replied.

"I'm going to enjoy this." I said with a feral grin.

The match was held in the same arena we had last time. Clint and I stood on opposing sides, getting ready for the bell to ring. I breathed in and out slowly and concentrated on the upcoming fight.

The bell rang seconds after I closed my eyes to clear my head. I instantly dashed forward, my hands drawing my sword without consciously thinking about it. Clint yelled out a spell and a large hand erupted from beneath me. I jumped through the air just as the hand reached up to grab me. I performed a forward roll and used it to slice the hand with my sword, taking two fingers with me.

"Nice, but can you handle this?" Clint yelled. "Earth Sculpt: Valley of Kings!"

I continued to close in on Clint, but the ground around me seemed to shoot into the skies. Rocky crags formed all around me as if I had been transported inside of a canyon.

"What is this?" I yelled.

Clint walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down me with a smile on his face. "Earth Sculpt not only allows me to create familiars, but it also allows me create anything that I can imagine, including places. This is a replica of the Valley of Kings in Egypt. It is also the perfect place for my Golems to defeat you. Earth Sculpt: Twin Destroyers!"

Two massive men began pushing their ways out of the ground. They had me completely cut off from any escape route as I could only go forward and backward. Unlike the previous Golems, these two were brandishing weapons made from stone. The one in front held a very large sword; one that made mine look like a tooth pick. The other held what seemed to be some sort of large scythe.

The one with the sword twisted his sword and shoved it into the ground. The one with the scythe began to charge at me. He raised his scythe over his head and swung it at my legs. I jumped up and over the blade. There was a loud whoosh as the scythe passed. I floated for a few seconds before gravity decided to bring me back to the earth. Before I landed however, the scythe Golem took advantage of my helpless state. He performed a perfect back swing that sent his scythe spinning back the other direction. It would have cut me in two had I not blocked with my sword. The momentum of the swing caused me to fly into the wall. The pain from the impact shot through me causing me to gasp as I fell to the ground.

"Not bad, not bad at all." I muttered as I stood up. I held my sword tightly and prepared for the next round. I decided not to take any chances and instantly activated my partial release.

"A knife? That's a Shinigami's Shikai?" Clint asked from atop his mountain.

"Nope, not really. This is just a preview." I smirked.

I turned my attention back to the Golems and prepared to launch myself. To my surprise, they were no longer in sight. There was a loud rumbling and the giant sword thrust itself out of the ground. I barely blocked, but it did nothing but throw me back. Another loud rumbling started and appeared to come from the wall of the canyon. A stone scythe emerged from the cliff wall. I bent as far back as I could and watched as the scythe flew a mere centimeter above my head. I landed hard on my back.

The two Golems seemed disappointed as they reemerged from the canyon floor and wall. Both stood side by side like proud sentinels and waited for me to get up. I stood up again and placed my Zanpakuto on my shoulder.

"At least you're making this interesting." I said as I charged again. This time I had a plan.

I ran for the one with the sword and prepared to swing at it. It parried my attempted swing with easy. We were deadlocked as he and I clashed. The second Golem took the opportunity to attack my feet. At the last second, I pulled my feet up in a small jump. The scythe sung below me and continued into the legs of the first Golem. The scythe sliced clean through the legs leaving nothing but stumps. The Golem teetered backwards and fell over, unable to get back up. The second Golem stood tall then swung its scythe at me with an overhead swing. I side stepped it then ran toward the Golem. The Golem lodged its scythe deep into the earth and noticed me running at it. With more speed than I thought possible, it round kicked me away. I flew through the narrow canyon until I impacted a wall. The Golem seemed to have forgotten its scythe and picked up its comrade's sword. It came charging at me with tremendous speed. Grabbing a hand hold on the wall, I readied myself for a leap. When I was sure that I was ready, I jumped up into the sky above the Golem. I flipped my blade over aimed it directly at the rock monster's head. Unable to react in time my blade plunged deep into the stone head. The creature didn't so much as scream as it crumbled away.

The first Golem had begun crawling toward me during this. I began walking back toward it. Its hand reached out for me, but I batted it away with my knife. I walked up to its head and stabbed it. The Golem like its comrade crumbled away.

"Is that it? That wasn't so tough." I questioned as I began to bound up and out of the canyon.

"Not bad, but can you survive a fight with me?" Clint said as he held his hand out. "Earth Sculpt: Earth's Fury!"

The ground shook at the issued command and it began to crack open. Through the cracks, the hilt of a sword began to rise. Its long hilt was made from carved marble and was absolutely beautiful. As the hilt rose from the ground, the beauty continued. The guard was a jagged orb made of obsidian, its dark purple contrasted the marble nicely. Soon after the blade began to show itself. It was a double-edged sword. It was just about the length of a knight's long sword. What was special however wasn't the length but the blade's materials. One edge was made of pure diamond. The other edge was made of granite.

"Not going to lie, your sword is beautiful." I commented as I dashed forward at top speed. "To bad I have to smash it!"

"You can try, but nobody has beaten Earth's Fury!" Clint yelled back as he parried my incoming slash.

We exchanged blows for several minutes before we both jumped back. We weren't going anywhere fast so we had to come up with something new.

We jumped forward once again, probing each other's defenses. I had to admit that despite the nerd look, Clint was a good swordsman. He didn't make a single mistake in footwork and his strikes were well timed and accurate. His style was based on hours upon hours of training. On the other hand, I was no master. My style was one of instinct. I blocked when I felt it was the right time. I attacked when I felt that I had an advantage. In a way, we were canceling each other out; mastery being challenged by pure instinct.

"So, what does your Zanpakuto do?" Clint asked as he pressed harder onto my blade.

"It makes me faster!" I replied as we jumped away from each other.

"That's it? No special attacks? It just makes you faster?" Clint asked, obviously not buying it.

"Even if it did, do you think I would tell you? Besides, this isn't even a real release. You wouldn't stand a chance if I could fully release it." I bragged.

"Is that so, well at least you can't fully release, not that it would matter. Earth's Fury: First Tremor!" Clint yelled as he threw his sword up into the air.

I was shocked that he would so easily toss away his weapon. I grinned though, as I blasted toward Clint.

"Bad move." he smirked. I had my Zanpakuto pointed directly at Clint and rushed in for the finish.

The next moment was just a blur. I remember watching the sword falling back to the ground. The blade dug deep into the soil. Light flooded from the ground as large cracks raced from the center of the spot the sword had landed. Soon I was tossed around like a doll. It felt as though the ground was literally angry with me. I blacked out for a few seconds, after I had fallen and hit my head on a large rock. Seconds later I woke up to the sound of Clint talking.

"...weak. That is why you will never be a mage." I heard him say.

I cracked my eyes just a peek to see the he was standing directly over me. I smiled inwardly as a plan popped into mind. Still watching the mage, I waited until he was stand directly over me.

"I guess that means I won our bet." Clint said as he turned.

I saw his sword melt back into the ground. As soon as he started walking, I jumped directly at him. I tackled him to the ground and placed my Zanpakuto on his throat.

"Don't every let your opponent keep their weapons, especially if they're Americans. We don't play fair." I stated.

Shock began to fade from his eyes as he realized his mistake. "Fine. You win."

"Clint, your overconfidence in your abilities was your downfall. If this wasn't just a friendly match, Elijah would have killed you." a feminine voice spoke from in the stands. We both looked up to see the same girl sitting in the stands.

"You're the one that was supposed to train me!" I yelped as I pointed at her.

"I'm sorry Teacher. It will not happen a second time." Clint said.

"You are correct. It will not happen again." she said with a glare. After Clint had bowed his head in shame, Morgan shifted her attention to me. "You Americans really are different. We will now officially begin your training."

"So what, that was a test?" I asked.

"Of sorts. It was to test Clint's abilities as a mage and as a teacher. Being able to teach what you know to the newer generation is just as big of a part of being a mage as defeating your adversaries. Obviously, Clint must work on both." Morgan replied, shooting another nasty glare at Clint.

"He almost had me. I didn't think he would be as strong as he was."

"It does not matter. What if he was a surgeon and he almost got a heart transplant right? What if he was a scientist and he almost had the right calculations for a rocket launch. In more realistic terms, what if he was driving and he almost missed somebody?" I stood silently for several seconds, not knowing how to respond. "In each of those scenarios, someone could die. Almost is never acceptable."

"That's not true! Almost is good for horseshoes and hand grenades!" Why I said that I had no clue.

"That is incorrect. The old adage states 'Almost is _only_ good in horseshoes and hand grenades.'" she replied. "Almost is never good enough to me, even with horseshoes and hand grenades. You will learn that soon enough. Clint, as punishment for your failure today, you will help the cleaning crew clean every restroom in this facility. No magic is allowed. Do I make myself clear?"

"I will do as you say, Teacher." Clint said quietly.

"You, come with me. I will make you into a mage within three days." she said as an evil aura began to surround her. I gulped loudly, but followed after her.

She led me through the halls with knowledgeable steps. We passed by the doors and halls that seemed to just be winding endlessly. There were no signs or maps to tell us where we were, nor did we stop to ask anyone for directions. Finally, I just had to ask.

"How do you know where you are going?" I asked.

"You do not see them?" Morgan asked curiously.

"See what?" I asked allowing confusion to seep into my voice.

"I see that we will have to start from the absolute beginning." Morgan sighed heavily. "This facility is under a protection spell. The spell keeps those that cannot use magic from seeing any of the signs or maps that are posted throughout the base."

"Oh I see; if anyone were to attack the base, they wouldn't be able to navigate."

"Precisely." Morgan agreed. She then began to head down another hallway. "In three days, you will know exactly how to access and utilize your magical power. For you it will feel like three months."

"I have a bad feeling about this." I muttered.

"You should, the place I am about to show you will be extremely dangerous. You may not survive."

"Oh joy." I mumbled.

 **Christa's POV**

After my little match with Kisuke, I told him everything I knew about Elijah's quest. He seemed extremely calm about the situation and didn't ask a single question, though he did seem to perk up when I told him about Elijah's transformation into a Soul Reaper. When I finished, he seemed as though he was in deep thought.

"I can't say that I know what is happening Miss Christa. I wish I could be of service." the man said almost too cheerfully. In a sense, I wasn't buying a word of it.

"If there is anything you can tell me, please! It could help me get my brother back!" I said.

Needless to say, Kisuke was absolutely no help. He danced around my questions like a professional dancer. Eventually I gave up and headed back to the estate.

The disappointment I felt was apparently self-evident as Uryu tried several times to speak to me about the events. I didn't want to talk about it because of the irritation I felt from the shopkeeper. Obviously, he knew more about what was going on, and his evasion was really irritating.

"Where have you been?" Ryuken asked from the top of the stairs as we entered the mansion.

"Exploring the moon." I said sarcastically. It really wasn't my best idea, but I was feeling especially aggravated today.

"I see that you have a lot of sass." a new voice said as a man walked from a shadow to stand next to Ryuken. Being at the top of the stairs made the two men look like giants as they glared at us. "I hate sass."

The man before me was about the average height for a Japanese man. He had black hair and was clearly oriental. He had a scar running from the upper left of his forehead to the right side of his right eye. Aside from his scar, the only other dominate feature he had was the way his face seemed to always be contorted into an angry glower. He wore a crisp black suit with a white shirt and a red tie.

"W-who are you?" I asked, feeling suddenly guilty for my earlier sarcasm.

"I am Fujikawa Takamasa." the man growled. His attitude made mine look like I had just come from Disney World.

"I-it's nice to meet you Mr. Takamasa, Sir." I stammered.

The man's eyes narrowed. "You foolish child! How dare you mock me by using my first name. Have you no respect?"

"I'm sorry, sir! I meant no disrespect!" I yelped with a bow.

The man's glare hardened even more. "This is the daughter of Conrad? He is just as pathetic now as he was back then. Not a single ounce of respect anywhere in this girl's voice."

Anger started to well up inside of me at the insult to my family, but it was quickly quenched the moment the man glared at me. It was almost as if he could see my soul and manipulate it. I lost all my anger to fear of this man.

"Fujikawa-sensei will be taking over your training. He knows more about your type of bow than anyone else I know. You would be wise to listen to his instruction." Ryuken said sternly.

"In my presence, you will refer to me as Sensei. You will not call me by my first name; only my last. You will continue with your studies at school, but at the end of the week you will be moving from this manor to a place that I will deem to be your new home. In essences, I am going to make your life a living hell until you can become a true Seelentoter Quincy."

"Is it alright if I ask a question?" I asked quietly. Fujikawa gave me a curt nod. "Do you have a Seelentoter like I do?"

"No, I do not." the man replied.

"Then how can you help me train?" I asked a little too boldly.

The man gave off an angry sigh, then glared down on me. "I studied them. I would dissect them and learn all I could about their powers. That was two questions, not one. I will not answer anymore."

The man began to walk down the stairs toward the front door. He passed by without so much as a look. Yoritomo politely held the door open for him. Fujikawa walked out of the house giving the head butler no notice.

"I really don't like that man." I muttered as Yoritomo shut the door.

"Not many do. He is a very difficult man to get along with." Yoritomo replied with a slight sigh.

"Neither of you have any right to judge Fujikawa-sensei. He is an honorable man despite his brusque nature." Ryuken snapped. I jumped a little at his anger, while Yoritomo bowed to his master.

"Why are you sending me to him?" I asked.

"He is the only man that can teach you about your abilities. Meanwhile I will devote the remainder of my time to Uryu's training." Ryuken said as he turned and walked deeper into the mansion.

"Well, today just sucks." I sighed.

* * *

We are finally getting out of the Discovery arc and into the next arc. I am pretty excited about the next few chapters as Elijah and Christa will both be exploring their powers deeper. Anyways, if y'all have anything to say, be sure to leave a comment or pm me. If you are enjoying the story so far, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! Also check out my YouTube Channel: Rougeliger. I do videos over several different games including Fallout 4, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty World War II! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	9. Chapter 9

What's up guys! Long time no see! There are still no reviews to answer and it is starting to hurt! Lol just kidding. I write this because I love to! I want to thank kaiovieira142 for following the story! I really appreciate it! Anyways, I am sorry this took so long and I hope y'all enjoy the chapter!

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 **Dangers bring fears, and fears more dangers bring.**

 **Richard Baxter**

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 **Chapter 9**

 **Elijah's POV**

The door we now stood in front of looked just like any other. It was a large, white, and boring. Like everything else in this place there were no markings anywhere on the door. In fact, the only thing that made it stick out was a key card slot on the right side of the door frame. This was the only door I had seen so far with a card reader.

"Oh portal to the dark world, open for this soul so that he may learn the dangers of this world!" Morgan chanted.

"Magical codex match, please insert level 115 security clearance ID card now." the door responded.

Morgan complied and slide a plastic card into the slot. There was a slight hum as the computer verified the card. The slot spat the card out and the door slid open revealing nothing but a swirling darkness.

"What is this?" I demanded.

"This is a place of great turmoil. It is known by many names, the dark realm, purgatory, hell, and others. Your task here is to survive. In this place, the slightest mistake will kill you. If you can survive in the Dark Realm for three days, then you will be truly able to use Eclipse magic to its fullest potential. Now, go if you think you can do it." Morgan explained. I nodded, prepared to walk forward into the swirling blackness. "One more thing. This world you are about to enter does not follow any of the conventional rules. The only way to survive will be to use your abilities as a Shinigami and a mage to survive"

"Take this as well." another voice added. I turned to see Levi standing behind Morgan. "This watch is set to tell you when three days are up. Time there is much different than it is here. Three days here equals three months in there. This door will only open up after three of our days have been completed."

"Thanks for the heads up." I stated as I caught a pocket watch Levi had thrown to me. "I'll be back and ready for you to teach me how to use my abilities."

"I hope that is the case. Good luck." Levi nodded.

I took a gulp and stepped through the door. I wasn't sure what I would find, and I didn't know how prepared I was for this challenge, but I find away to survive. My mission depended on it.

 **Levi's POV**

"Master Levi, do you think he will survive?" Morgan asked quietly.

"The boy is too stubborn to die. He is also too determined to save his poor mother." I replied with a thin smile. "Besides, Ken no Dorobo will not allow his "master" to die so easily."

"Do you think he will learn the secrets of his Zanpakuto?"

"It is a possibility, however, I find it doubtfully." I said as I turned. "That is enough questions for today, now we must make preparations for infiltrating the Soul Society. Once he returns, we will begin have six weeks before the construction of the modified Senkaimon is complete and tested. Until then, we will plan our assault."

"What about the girl? She went to see that Kisuke Urahara character."

"Urahara will have plenty of other things to worry about. Soon Hueco Mundo will be making their move. When they do, the Soul Society will have a two way war." I said while snapping my fingers. A display not unlike a computer appeared just ahead of me. "These are the feeds that we are receiving from both the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo."

Using my right hand, I touched the two images that had popped up. One showed the picture of a large castle while the other showed the massive size of the Seireitei. I clicked the image of Hueco Mundo and instructed the camera to zoom in. It showed several different figures battling in a mock battle. All of the figures were dressed in a reverse uniform of a Shinigami. Several of the figures had numbers on their bodies.

"These will be the opponents of the Soul Society. They are a loose coalition of Hollows known as the Espada. When Sosuke Aizen and his two compatriots betrayed the Soul Society, they quickly became the leading force in the Hollow World. The Espada all were high level hollows that gained Shinigami abilities. All of the Espada are Captain level power wise, though the weakest is just barely. Even many of their subordinates are as strong as some captains. Overall, they are a formidable force. We would be small fry compared as we have only five mages that could defeat a captain with ease."

"And what of the Soul Society. How are they preparing for this impending attack?" Morgan asked.

"They are doing it the most rigid way possible. Some of the squads actually seem fairly relaxed, the only exception is Squad Eleven, but that is no surprise. At the rate that the Espada are preparing, we estimate another five weeks before the Espada actually begin probing the Soul Society's defenses. Until then, I suspect that they will send in scouts to assess their assets here."

"According to our plan, we begin operations in six weeks. Why do we not start when the major fighting beginnings, when both sides are busy attacking each other?"

"The time frame won't allow it. I haven't told anyone this, but if we wait any longer than eight weeks, the spacial shift will have dissipated." I explained.

"Then we would have to use one of the other less pleasant options that were discussed" Morgan mumbled. "We probably wouldn't have another chance like this either."

"Exactly. Now, we need to get our men ready for the coming storm." I said as I snapped my fingers again. This time the screen disappeared.

 **Elijah's POV**

"What is this place?" I asked myself as I walked through a mist shrouded forest.

The forest was dead quiet. Not a soul or a sound could be heard. The trees were all dead and barren of leaves. The ground was covered in dead grass and rotting foliage. Overall it was a foreboding place. I turned back to the door, only to see it rotting away before my very eyes.

"Well, that wasn't creepy at all." I mumbled.

I began to look in all directions for a hint of where is should go, but the forest looked the same no matter what direction I looked. Sighing, I picked a direction and began moving forward.

Hours I walked, and hours I only heard the sounds of my own foot steps crushing the leaves beneath. The silence was starting to get to me, and I was quickly realizing why this would be like torture. Three months in a lifeless forest with nobody to talk to, would drive anyone insane.

"You shouldn't be here, Soul Reaper!" a grumbling voice whispered urgently.

"You must escape! You must run!" a higher pitched voice groveled.

"Who's there! Show yourself!" I yelled as I reached for my Zanpakuto.

"The Shadows are here!" the two voices screeched in unison.

"Get out here! Show yourselves!" I yelled again.

Suddenly two distinct screams could be heard. Both of them shrieked like they were being torn apart by wild animals. The sounds of snarls also filled the air as did the coppery smell of blood.

I began to trudge toward the noise, determined to find the source. The sounds increased as did the smell of death. A few trees ahead of me, I could see shadows prancing though I didn't see anything that could cause them to move. Drawing my sword, I slowly crept up to the closest tree.

The sight I saw was horrific. There were four shadows surrounding two corpses. Both corpses had been completely dismembered to the point that I really couldn't tell what they were.

The four shadowy figures I saw however could only be describe as demons. They all were very tall and wore black cloaks that seemed to waver even when there was no wind. Their arms were long and pasty white and ended in two black tipped claws. Their legs similar to their arms were also the same pasty white, but their legs were reversed like a bird's and their feet ended in black, four toed talons. With their backs turned to me, I couldn't make out their faces, but it didn't take a genius to tell that they probably looked just as horrific as the rest of them.

One of the creatures scooped up what looked like an arm and began to drink the blood that was flowing from it. The act made me sick to my stomach and I nearly lost it.

In my moment of weakness, I let my arm slip from the bark of the tree I was hiding behind. The slight sound I made caused my heart to stop. I quickly pulled myself out of sight before any of the creatures could see me. When I didn't hear anyone coming I peaked back around the corner.

My heart nearly exploded as I saw that none of the creatures were there anymore. I swung myself around to run away only to meet face to face with the four shadowy figures. Fear began to bubble up inside of me.

My earlier guess was correct. They had pasty white faces with with long, pointed noses. They had no ears and their eyes were little, beady dots. Their mouths were extremely large for their bodies and I could see large teeth sticking out from the upper jaw.

One of the creatures inched forward and began smelling me. A second later, its mouth turned up with a hideous grin. It raised one of its large claws overhead, ready to bring it down on me.

"Shinigami!" it screeched as its claws came crashing down.

I barely had enough time to bring my blade up to counter. The strength from the blow sent my sword swirling through the air where it landed in the dirt several feet away.

The creature began to make strange croaking sounds that vaguely sounded like laughter. It raised arms above me ready to deal a final blow.

"Be gone!"

Out of nowhere, a large fire ball splashed onto the ground in between the four creatures. The three creatures were doused in fire and began screeching in agony. The fire turned from orange to bright white as the flames licked up every part of the creatures. When the fire subsided, only ashes remained.

"So you are the foolish one to open up the gate to the netherworld. I thought I felt the presence of a death god. What is your purpose here?" a man that looked to be dressed in some type of fur cloak said.

He was a tall man, though the term giant may have suited him better as he was nearly two feet taller than I was. He had tanned skin and toned muscles. He had scars all over his arms and a pronounced scar on his face that traveled from one side of his forehead to the other. He had no facial hair or hair in general that I could see. The gray fur cloak he wore covered every other part of his body. In his left hand, he held what appeared to be a walking stick.

"Wh-who are you?" I managed to mumble out.

The man's gaze seemed to glaze slightly, as if he were lost in a memory. "I have given up any name I once had. Again I ask, what is your purpose here? Is it to kill me?"

"What? No! Why would I kill you when you just saved me from those… what were those things?"

"I call them Vampires." the man stated simply.

"Creative." I mumbled again.

"Creative or not, the name is fitting. Those creatures kill whatever they find and drink only the blood."

"You didn't answer my first question." I stated.

"Nor you mine."

"Fair enough." I said. "I am here to train to be a mage."

"You are from Break then. That is interesting." the man said thoughtfully. "Come with me."

"Why should I go with you? You haven't answered my question yet." I asked indignantly. His lack of explanation was really irritating me.

"I am not forcing you to come with me. Just be warned, there are creatures far worse than vampires that reside in this forest." the man said as he turned and walked away.

"What for me!" I called.

I could barely keep up with the man as he zigzagged through the trees. The man, obviously a long time resident of the forest moved so quietly I thought that I was following some kind of ghost. For all I knew, that was exactly what I was doing.

"You can stop now. We are here." the man said as he halted in place.

He stood in front of a very large clearing. In the middle of the clearing, was an old worn down house that looked like it would fall over at any minute. The man walked forward into the clearing. As he moved, he shimmered with a bright light and disappeared.

"He really was a ghost!" I yelped.

"You surprise me Shinigami. You claim that I am a ghost when in fact, you are much closer to a ghost than I." the man voiced with humor, though I could not see him. "Now, come toward the clearing."

I gulped and took a step forward and another until I reached the place the man had disappeared from. I looked at the clearing as hard as I could but I couldn't see anything that made it out of the ordinary.

With a sigh, I walked through. I didn't feel anything while passing through. In fact, it felt the same as anything else. However I could see the man from before so I know it wasn't my eyes playing tricks on me.

"What was that?" I asked.

"It is a protective barrier I created." the man replied as he place his staff against the outside wall of the decrepit, old house. "Come inside."

I followed the man inside and was surprised that the inside of the house wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most of the walls were still intact as were all of the doors. The floor was hard wood, which needed a decade worth of polishing. The walls were made from wood slabs and all of the windows were boarded over. Shelves with various knickknacks were on most of the walls. There were only two doors that I could see. One seemed to lead to a kitchen while the other led to a hallway.

"I have a guest room down that hall. It hasn't ever been used so I use it as storage. If you clear some of the junk out, you can use it for the night. Kitchen is through that door. I will make some dinner for us. If you are not here when it is done, then you will not eat, no exceptions."

"Man, you play it hard." I mumbled as I went toward the small hallway. "What should I call you?"

"Like I said, I gave up my name a long time ago." the man replied.

"I have to call you something."

"If you are going to keep bugging me, you can call me Johann." he replied with an annoyed growl.

"That your real name?" I asked suspiciously.

"At one time it was." Johann replied as he walked into the other room.

When Johann said he used the guest room as storage, he really meant that he used it as a junkyard. There were piles of junk everywhere. The way Johann acted, I didn't think that he would have been a pack rat. I got to work, clearing what had to be a bed.

After several disgusting encounters, I made the bed something that remotely looked clean enough to sleep on. I really didn't want to sleep on it considering that the old mattress could very well have bed bugs, or lice, or something that would be a detriment to my health, but it was better than the cold hard floor.

I was about to place my sword down, when I heard rapping on the door. I got up and opened it to see Johann standing in the door frame.

"Dinner." he stated simply before walking off.

I walked into the kitchen and saw that it wasn't much more than a few cabinets and a potbelly stove. There was a rickety old table in one corner that held a couple loaves of bread and a large bowl of some kind of stew. I sat down at the table in an old chair and looked at the table's contents hungrily.

Johann sat down across from me he placed two bowls heavily on the table then began filling his bowl up. He looked at me and shoved another bowl toward me then handed me the ladle he had been using.

"Thank you for helping me." I said as I filled my bowl with the stew. Johann stayed silent.

I then began eating. The stew was extremely good. Probably one of the best dishes I had ever had. Within minutes, I devoured the entire bowl.

"That was great! What did you put in there?" I asked excitedly.

"Vegetables and mushrooms I foraged as well as salamander legs." Johann replied.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked hopefully. When Johann shook his head, my stomach just about ejected its contents.

The rest of dinner went slowly as Johann quietly ate his meal. After finding out what was in the stew, I opted on nibbling on a loaf of bread.

"Johann, why are you here by yourself?" I asked.

"I have done many despicable things. Living here is my punishment."

"Then why did Levi send me here? Is he trying to get ride of me?"

"No, he wants you to learn to survive. He also wants you to find something." Johann replied.

"What does he want me to find?"

"This is a desolate place. Death lurks in every corner and the chances of survival are nil. However, there is something that will help you survive." Johann looked me in the eyes and studied them for several long seconds. "Tell me, how well can you use magic?"

"I know every spell the Eclipse Seed taught me." I started.

"Let me guess. You know how to use the spells, but you don't know how to summon the magic to make them work."

"That sums it up." I confirmed.

"How well can you use your Zanpakuto?"

"I can perform a partial release. It allows me to boost my strength and speed. It also gives me an attack that pours all of my spiritual pressure into a single strike at the cost of my defense."

"I see. In other words you are weak. Very well then, I will train you to do what must be done. You must learn Shikai and how to call on magic. To do that you must be put in harms way. Tomorrow, we will journey into the forest. We will not return here until you are ready to leave."

"How can you train me to use Shikai?" I asked.

"Earlier, you asked me what Levi wanted you to find. He wanted you to find me. Before I banished myself, I was like you. I was once a Shinigami. Later, I could not take what the Soul Society was doing and I left. At that moment, I chose to study to become a Mage."

The morning looked about the same as the night. The sky was a constant dark gray. The only difference was that the night was a slightly darker shade of gray. We marched through the gray woods in silence. Johann moved with the elegance of an antelope, while I moved with the elegance of a rampaging bull.

"Your first lesson shall be to quiet your movements. If you move like that here, you will die. Vampires and Trappers love prey that makes noise. It makes it easy for them to sneak up on you and kill you." Johann whispered.

I paled as I tried to step more carefully. "What are Trappers?"

"They are the original denizens of this plane. They were once human, but they changed when they allowed magic to flow out of hand. In a sense they destroyed themselves. Those that survived the initial destruction transformed into Trappers." Johann started. "They are humanoid creatures that look, sound, smell human. That is their ploy. When something gets too close, be it a human or another creature, trappers unleash their true forms. Their chest cavity opens up and shoots out barbs that injects the victim with poisons. Once the creature dies, the trapper ingests the victim through tubes that are located inside the barbs. The problem is that the poison doesn't kill quickly. It can take days of pain and agony before the poison finally kills you. During that time, the trapper will gather leaves and bark and cover itself and the victim in a secretion that acts as glue. It covers you up, making it impossible for anyone to find you."

"Lovely." I mumbled.

"Yes and they are only the lowest in the hierarchy of monsters here. Next are the Vampires, then comes the Brutes, after the Brutes come the Crashers, and finally comes the Evolved."

"So Trappers become Vampires, Vampires become Brutes, Brutes become Crashers, and Crashers become Evolved."

"Yes, right now. You may be able to defeat a Trapper, but it would be a massacre if you tried fighting a Vampire." Johann confirmed.

"That's nice to know."

"Shush! There is something ahead!" Johann whispered urgently.

We both stopped in our tracks and watched through the trees ahead. About fifty feet away was what appeared to be a human.

"Trapper." Johann whispered. "Looks like it managed to capture a Vampire. Rare, but not unheard of. Go kill it."

"What?" I asked out of astonishment.

"You want to be strong? Survival comes first. You survive then you train." Johann whispered back.

I gulped as I took a few quiet steps forward. I drew my sword and readied myself. If I did things right, I would be able to take the creature down with a single strike.

I could see the creature was distracted; covering its prey with something that looked like leaves and other debris. I leapt forward as quickly as I could, hoping that I could take the creature by surprise. I brought my sword over my head then swung it down while I was still in the air.

The creature was in fact caught off guard. My sword cut cleanly through the top of its skull, but my sword didn't go through. Instead, it just stopped as if it had hit a steel plate.

The Trapper, angered by my sudden attack, grabbed the blade that was sticking out of its head and lifted it up. It hissed as it yanked me forward. With a single arm it threw me and my Zanpakuto at a large, dead tree. My back hit the tree with so much force that there was a loud crack.

I cried out as I fell to the ground. When I could look around again, I saw that the trapper hadn't moved. It was staring at me now, hissing in the worst ways possible. Then I saw the tubes in its exposed chest. They were still connected to its victim, but that was quickly changing. In total, there were ten tubes and one by one they were retracting into the Trapper. As soon as the last of the Trapper's tubes had retracted, it stood up and began to shamble toward me. I scrambled for my Zanpakuto and instantly tried to use my partial release.

The Trapper hissed again, broke into a mad dash before I could activate my sword. My hair stood on end as I prepared to counter the dash with a vertical strike, but was again caught off guard as the creature lunged and grabbed the sword.

We fought for control over the blade for several long seconds. The creature was unnaturally strong as it took every ounce of strength I had to keep the hilt from slipping from my grasp. Finally, I ended the deadlock by giving the Trapper a quick kick to the gut or where its gut should be.

The Trapper staggered back several steps. I took the opportunity to use a downward strike. My blade caught just the tip of its face on the outside of its left eye and left a jagged gash in its wake. The Trapper unleashed a terrible shriek as it scratched at its face.

With out warning, it jumped high into the air. It continued its shrieks as it came back down on top of me. Its weight dropped me to the ground. It was on top of me scratching and punch with no strategy whatsoever. It didn't matter as I was defenseless on the ground. I tried to cover my face as best I could but the Trapper had one of my arms pinned.

"Is this really all you have? I expected so much more from someone who had a just cause. _"_

"You here to just torment me with my failures?" I asked as I stared at the shadow of a Zanpakuto.

"You came all of this way. You learned the secrets of the Eclipse Seed. You obtained a partial release, you even join an organization with powers that are only known in legends and you die because of a creature that is the lowest of its own hierarchy. Pathetic."

"Shut up!" I roared as the vision of my Zanpakuto faded. "Take what you can! Ken no Dorobo!"

Spiritual pressure flowed around me as the Trapper was blown back. I leered at the Trapper before I launched forward. I didn't even take notice of my sword's appearance, or the fact that I now held two blades. I swung in a downward motion with my right hand. A large gash opened and the creature jumped back, shrieking in pain. I leapt forward and stabbed with my left hand. The creature shrieked one last time before it fell to the ground, dead.

"You were that close to Shikai?" Johann questioned.

"I guess. I mean I could use my partial release." I shrugged before glancing at swords. I as startled by their appearance, and couldn't help but shout. "Holy crap!"

"What is the matter?" Johann asked out of concern.

"The Bowie knife I have used before. It was my partial release. But this!" I waved around the large sword in my hand. "This is that orange hair guys! His Zanpakuto is exactly like this!"

"Interesting." Johann mumbled as he came closer. He studied the blade from several different angles before he took it from me. "It seems that you have one of the cursed blades, the sword thief, if I am not mistaken."

"But I didn't take that guy's Zanpakuto! Hell, the guy almost caught me in five seconds flat!" I replied.

"Chances are, you only needed to cross blades with him for you acquire his power." Johann replied.

"What exactly are the cursed blades?" I asked.

"Come, we needed to find a place to rest." Johann answered back.

We walked for a few more hours before we came upon a small cave. I entered first while Johann brought up the rear. I looked behind me and saw Johann wave his staff at the opening. Decipherable letters appeared and flew forward. They then sealed the door with a wall of stone.

Johann took no notice at my slack-jawed expression and began to speak. "The cursed blades are three Zanpakuto that do not die with their masters. Instead, once they have lost their master they go to sleep and await for someone to has the power to summon them as their own Zanpakuto. Your sword clones the abilities of an opposing blade, another blade causes the Zanpakuto to rebel against their wielders, the last one completely destroys a Zanpakuto."

"That sounds kind of ridiculous. If someone were to have one of these. No Soul Reaper alive would be able to touch them!" I said.

"That may be the case, but these blades have a severe limitation. While most Zanpakuto gain additional abilities they also drastically boost the users strength, durability, and stamina. The Cursed Blades will give only small boosts to their wielder, meaning that if you were to copy a Zanpakuto that can destroy a mountain while being wielded by its master, you would only be able to destroy say, a boulder unless you have an equal or greater amount of spiritual pressure."

"So my Zanpakuto will always be the weaker unless I become stronger." I concluded.

"Yes, however, you can get past this weakness if you are creative enough. For example, I would augment my Zanpakuto's strikes using my magic when I first learned magic."

"What is your magic? Earlier, I saw you shoot flames from you staff, and just a minute ago you created a wall out of nothing."

"I am a Rune user. I can write enchantments then cast them at my target." Johann replied before he wrote some more runes and created a small fire as an example. "Get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.

"There is nothing like a life threatening situation to motivate one to push past their limits." Ken no Dorobo spoke as I stood in one of the alleys of my inner world.

"Ya know, sometimes I wonder if you find me nearly dying entertaining!" I shouted.

"I would not go that far, but I do find it satisfying when you go beyond expectation." Ken no Dorobo replied. "In the end, it does not matter. You are here to learn something else. By obtaining Shikai, you have gained the ability to use another's Zanpakuto. I have already been able to obtain reishi from two different Zanpakuto."

"I have already seen one. Its heavier than a fork lift on Jupiter!"

"Yes you have seen one. However, you have not been able to use its abilities. In order for you to use those abilities you must take them from the Zanpakuto themselves." Ken no Dorobo explained.

"I'm guessing that you have them here?"

"You know me too well." you could tell that he was grinning as wide as he could.

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As always, I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Ever since I saw bleach, I wondered why our heroes didn't have a villain that could steal their abilities. (This was before the thousand year blood war arc, even then, the Quincy only stole Bankai not Shikai.) That is where I came up with the idea for this story. I could see the problems with an ability like that so I came up with a limitation that I hope will balance out the overpowered idea of stealing one's Zanpakuto. Hopefully, the cursed blades idea makes sense as well. I took inspiration of that from Muramasa and Nanao. Muramasa because he is literally based off a legendary cursed sword, and Nanao because her Zanpakuto is passed down generation to generation. Anyways, if you have anything to say, be sure to leave a review or pm me. If you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. I know it has been a while. I had a few things pop up and unfortunately it limited my time. Enough of the excuses, on to the review!

Ramon RSin the Emprahh 23: Man that is a long name! IF you drop another review I'll just say Ramon for short. I just want to say thank you for the support. It really means a lot!

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 **Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.**

 **Swami Sivananda**

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 **Chapter 10**

 **Elijah's POV**

A week of living in this godforsaken place had done me little good after my initial discover of my Shikai. I practiced with it every chance I had, but it was difficult with the weight of the orange head's sword. It was so big that I had to actually mirror how he carried it, by strapping it to my back. My other blade I placed at my hip.

"This thing is going to kill my back! I don't see how that guy can carry this thing like it weighs nothing!" I complained as I followed Johann.

"Because, you are not the original wielder. It probably feels like it weighs nothing to him." Johann said quietly as he began to crouch.

"What is it?" I asked as I reached for my Bowie knife.

"Our breakfast." he replied as he began to draw runes in the air with his hand.

About fifty feet ahead was what looked like a lizard. It actually looked a lot like a big Iguana, aside from the fact that it was black and red while Iguana were mostly green.

Johann finished his writing and then motioned forward. "Rune Style: Otherworldly Cage!"

Before the lizard could react, it was trapped inside a rather large blue barrier, that scaled about twenty feet in the air. If I were to take a guess, I would say that it was about thirty feet long and thirty feet wide.

"Why did you make the barrier so big?" I asked.

"Because you are the one going to kill it." he replied before he grabbed my arm and threw me inside

"What the hell, man!" I yelled as I glided through the air and through the barrier where I landed quite roughly on the ground.

The lizard looked at me then began to hiss menacingly. I grabbed both of my blades and got into a combat stance. The lizard looked absolutely pissed and it quickly became evident that it was going to unleash all of that pent up frustration on me. Lucky for me, I had something that I wanted to try out.

Ken no Dorobo disappeared into the darkness. Only to return later with something that looked like a black and white orb no bigger than a golf ball. He held it gently in his long slender fingers before handing it off to me.

"This is a spiritual encasement orb. Every time I touch a sword in its Shikai one of these will be filled with the Reishi of the Zanpakuto that you are fighting. With this, I am able to create a clone of the Zanpakuto. In order for you to use their abilities, you must cause the Zanpakuto to submit to you or else it will only be an empty shell."

Ken no Dorobo held up the orb before he smashed it into the ground. Black smoke and red lightning filled the alley making it hard to see. When it finally cleared, there was a person about my age standing next to Ken no Dorobo. He was wearing what appeared to be polar opposites of what I was wearing with a white shihakusho and a black obi sash. His hair was pure white as was his skin. He had black eyes with yellow pupils. He was an exact copy of the orange haired Soul Reaper.

"What the hell did you do, you bastard?" the spirit roared as he as he swung around in an attempt to decapitate Ken no Dorobo. The swing of the large cleaver-like sword merely passed through my Zanpakuto.

"You are a copy, a mere image of another. You cannot touch me." Ken no Dorobo hissed as he batted away the other spirit, sending him through one of the walls in the alley. "If you ever want to be released from this place, you must defeat him."

The other spirit climbed back through the wall and glared at Ken no Dorobo, then at me. "That's it? I just have to beat this scrawny runt down? Sounds like fun."

"This guy is a nut case!" I said as I quickly parried a strike that was aimed at my head.

I took a step forward to thrust my Bowie knife into his abdomen, but he knocked me back with a kick. Switching things up, I dashed toward the spirit. I first threw the cleaver sword, which sped ahead and surprised the spirit. The Zanpakuto side stepped the attack, and was barely fast enough to react to my next strike, blocking my stab with the broad side of his blade.

"Got to hand it to you, you put up more of a fight than King does." the malicious spirit grinned. "But that ain't going to be enough!"

"Don't worry, I have a few other tricks to show you!" I shouted as we clashed blades once again.

We continued our battle with well placed strikes and parries. At one point, I feinted an attack that would have left me open. The Zanpakuto saw it and immediately fell into my trap. When he was preparing to strike me down, I flipped my Bowie knife around and stabbed it up into his gut.

"Shit," the spirit muttered as he fell to his knees. "Guess I didn't see that one. You're tougher than you look. Don't get any ideas that you are strong. I will return to King, just not today."

The spirit began to fade back into the ball from where he had come from. I picked it up and stared at it for a few seconds.

"Take Zangetsu and place the ball on top of it. Once you do that you will be able to use his abilities. In time, you will be able to use any ability without fighting the spirit, but you are not to that point yet."

We stared each other down for several seconds before the lizard began to charge at me. It bared its sharp fangs and hissed as it sprinted. I quickly slid Ken no Dorobo into its sheath and grabbed Zangetsu with both hands. I tilted forward and stabbed Zangetsu ahead of me, striking the lizard head on. It didn't kill the creature, but it did stun it. I raised Zangetsu above my head and summoned a large amount of reishi into my blade. I swung it around for a quick second before I released it. The lizard was struck dead by the release of my large wave of reishi. The lizard stumbled for a second before falling to the ground, dead.

"About time, I was getting hungry. Next time, be sure to be quick when dealing with your prey. They can have all sorts of nasty surprises if you don't." Johann lectured as he dispelled the barrier and proceeded to hoist the large reptile onto his shoulder.

"No good, job? No, thanks for killing our breakfast?" I asked irately.

"Why would I thank you for you performing your training?"

"That was training? Yesterday, you threw me at a Trapper and today you throw me at just some random lizard? What kind of training is this?"

"The kind that allowed you release your Zanpakuto and test your newfound abilities." Johann replied as he set to work putting a fire together. "If it helps, your next segment should help you unlock your magic."

"At this rate, I won't even have to stay in this place!" I cheered with lifted moods.

"You will be staying here for the full three months. You managed to kill a single trapper and a common lizard. The Thirteen Court Guard Squads are a much different group of individuals. Of course the common Shinigami would find these feats impressive, however anyone above sixth seat would be able to do the same and much more. In essence, you still don't even budge the scale." Johann explained as he placed the lizard on the fire. "Also, the door will not open until that time is up. Meaning that even if you were ready, you would not be able to go through it."

"Great," I mumbled as I sat down next to the fire. "Hey, why didn't you just use your runes to start a fire?"

"It is a waste of magic energy." Johann replied simply.

"A waste? I thought that you could just keep using it like mind of matter and that crap."

"It is no wonder why you have no clue as to how to use your magic power." Johann sighed as he sat beside me. "Magic is a very powerful tool. You can level entire mountains with it or you could grow entire forests. However, all of that is limited by how much magic an individual can contain. Like Shinigami, one can train in order to increase the amount of magic one can hold. The difference is how strong one's spiritual pressure defines how strong one is. In magic, it depends on how much magic one can contain within their body. The spells they can use, the amount of spells they use, and even the type of spells they use all depend on the amount of magic they can hold. In other words, magic capacity doesn't necessarily translate into strength."

I stared at Johann for several minutes. I thought I understood what he was saying, but I wasn't sure. Johann sighed as he saw my confusion.

"Let me explain it to you this way." Johann pulled out a tin cup from his small knapsack and filled it with water from his canteen. "This cup contains eight ounces of water. If I were to use four advanced spells the water would be gone, I would have no power left to cast anymore spells and I would have to wait for my magic to replenish before casting anymore."

Johann took his cup and poured it back into the canteen to make his point. "Now, say my cup is full again. I use a small fire rune which take two ounces, then I use a barrier rune to defend which costs three ounces. I have used five of my eight ounces of water for attack and defense."

"So once you use up your magic, it's gone. That means that you have to be aware of how much magic you use."

"Correct, if you are not careful you can be put in a bad situation very fast.

"How do I access my magic? I tried meditating at the base, but that really didn't work." I asked.

"Meditating is only one way to awaken your magical abilities. There are several other ways for one to use. In fact, I have already begun the process."

"What process?" I asked suspiciously.

"That lizard is extremely poisonous. A single taste of its flesh can kill a person within seconds." Johann stood up once again and grabbed his staff. "There is however a benefit to this. A Brute is drawn to this poison when it is heated. I do not know why, but it acts as a type of bait. You are going to escape the Brute before it comes. I would give it about five minutes. You better escape before then or you will be devoured."

"What?" I yelled as Johann shot several rune from his staff. The runes circled around me before turning into bright yellow bands that trapped my arms and legs. Johann walked up to me and grabbed both Zangetsu and Ken no Dorobo and disappeared.

"Get back here, you coward!" I shouted. I had to get a nutcase as a teacher.

I looked down at the golden bands that surrounded me. They were made of pure energy; something I had never seen before. The outside of the rings stayed a solid yellow, but if you concentrated you could see an ever so slight flicker. I noted that and began to study other aspects of the bands.

"They tighten when I struggle." I mumbled as I tried to slip my feet out of them.

'Think, what was it that Johann said about magic?'

There were several topics that Johann discussed, but the only one that I could really concentrate on was what he said about everyone having a sort of container. If I could find that container then I would have a start.

I closed my eyes and concentrated every neuron I had to find my container. I listened to my heart beat, to my breathing, and even to the soundless nothing around me.

I could hear nothing. I opened my eyes again and sighed. I couldn't find anything out of place in my body. I began to think about other possibilities.

'Maybe it isn't in my body at all. Maybe it is inside my spirit.' I thought. 'Wait, I am a spirit, technically. Shouldn't I be able to feel it?'

Suddenly, there was what I could only describe as a small earthquake. It broke me from my thoughts and sent my mind racing. Ahead of me, I could see the trees slowly shaking. Several of the smaller ones began to creak and fall.

'Crap! Out of time!' I thought as I began to think about how to escape.

Through the trees I began to see the shape of a very large body. It was about the size of a tree itself and about as wide as an elephant. It had long, thick arms that ended in massive hands. It had a very stocky body that was almost disproportionate with its arms. The legs were extremely small compared with its arms, but they were as thick as a medium-sized tree trunk. The shortness of its legs and the length of its arms made it walk on all fours. As it got closer, I could make out that it had dark gray skin that seemed to resemble leather. Its head was about the size of a regular human's, but that is the end of the comparisons. The rest of it was almost completely featureless. There were no ears, nose, or hair. The eyes were just little red slits. Finally, its mouth just seemed to be a thin line seemed to reach from one side of its jaw to the other.

It stared down at me for several minutes. I stared back at its featureless face awaiting my fate. It reached down with one of its gigantic hands and grabbed me. It picked me up as if I were a rag doll, then began to squeeze. I began to scream as the pressure began to push all of my blood to my head. Between my screams, I could see the mouth of the creature open. It opened and opened and didn't seem to stop. Its mouth stretched beyond what should have been possible, almost like a snake's. It shoved me down into its mouth. The mouth, like a snake, had no teeth. It easily shoved me into its mouth. I squirmed and struggled to escape, but nothing I did allowed me to escape. Saliva surrounded me, soaking through my clothes. I managed to turn around to see the opened of the mouth. I tried to climb out, but the mouth slammed shut, throwing me into the darkness. I could feel the muscles working to shove me down the creature's gullet. A minute later, I splashed into the creature's stomach. The acid instantly began to burn me, causing me to scream in agony.

'This is it,' I thought as I burned and melted. My mind began to fade to the blackness. 'Sorry mom.'

Suddenly, I was bathed in light. I bolted up and opened my eyes. I was back in the clearing next to the fire pit. My bindings were still in place. Everything was exactly the same as it was a few minutes ago.

"What the hell?" I asked out of shock.

"You failed."

I turned my head to see Johann standing to my right. He had both of my Zanpakuto in his hands still. "This was fake?"

"Yes and no. The Brute was fake, but the danger is real."

"What does that mean?" I yelled.

"It means that if you don't escape the illusion soon that you really will die. The spell's name is Death's Vision. It shows the target a nightmarish vision. If the opponent can't escape the vision, the target will die. I have the ability to control how many times a vision repeats before the victim expires."

"How many times are you allowing this to happen?"

"You have two more chances. After that, you will die."

"You've got to be kidding me! At least give me a hint!" I yelled.

"You have all of the hints you need. One more thing, every time you 'die' the next time will be even more painful." with that Johann once again disappeared.

My struggle immediately began. I wriggled and squirmed, but my restraints began to restrict me even more. I slowed my struggles and began to think again. The only thing that came to mind was once again the idea that there was a container somewhere inside of me.

"Come on! Think!" I shouted.

Then the familiar sound of quaking footsteps came crashing through the forest. My panic returned full force as I saw, not one, but two of the Brutes smashing their way through the forest. They towered over me like two ancient mountains.

The immediate danger I was in snapped me back into reality as I began to concentrate on escaping. I tried to dump out any doubt I had. As I concentrated, I could feel something pulling deep within me. Time seemed to slow considerably as I felt whatever it was reaching for me. I in turned reached for it. I could feel energy flowing around me and even the bonds beginning to falter. Unfortunately, my concentration faltered as one of the Brutes picked me up. The bonds reaffirmed themselves, restricting my movements once again.

The second Brute also reached for me, grabbing my lower half. The two Brutes, lifted me high into the air and began to pull. I was instantly bathed immeasurable amounts of pain as the two Brutes pulled me apart. I could hear my bones creak and my skin begin to strain. Luckily for me, I lost consciousness. That mercy, allowed for me to survive any mental scarring that would have left behind.

"You failed again." Johann stated as I for a third time awoke in the clearing. "You have one more chance or you will die. Your mind will not be able to withstand the pain of this last illusion.

"I think in can handle it. I am almost there!" I declared.

Johann one last time disappeared. I concentrated on the reservoir that I had discovered and felt my consciousness tap what felt like a vast pool.

The earth began to shake as the time and appearance of the Brute or Brutes drew near. I allowed the energy to flow over my body, then I tried to concentrate it on my arms and legs, where the bands were trapping me. The bands began to waver going from a solid glowing light, to an erratic, almost lightning-like appearance. I looked up for a split second to see that a single Brute was towering over me. I concentrated even harder, shoving as much power as I could into my bonds. I could feel them weakening and at last they burst apart.

I expected the nightmare to disappear after I broke the bonds. To my dismay, the nightmare continued. The Brute reached down with one of its massive hands. The hand swiped at the space I had occupied just seconds ago.

The Brute groaned as it tried again. This time, it was nearly twice as fast. I jumped into the air and narrowly dodged the incoming hand. As I fell, I maneuvered on top of the creature's arm. It raised its other arm and tried to slap me like a mosquito.

"Alright, you overgrown monkey," I started as I leapt from the creature and high into the air. "I don't need a sword to take you down!"

I laced my fingers and raised both hands above my head. I then allowed my newly acquired magic to flow into my arms. As the magic flowed, I noticed that one arm was flickering with black flames lined with white light while the other was covered with dark crimson flames. Both flames combined at my fists and converged into ball of black, red, and a thin line of white.

"Eclipse Seed Blast!" I yelled.

A large blast shot from my combined fists shot down at my target. The Brute looked up dumbly as the beam took less than a second to make contact. It was struck directly in the head. It staggered a few steps then toppled over; its body disintegrating into white smoke.

"Very good." Johann said as I stood up. "Once your time here is done, you will be a force to be reckoned with."

 **Elijah's Inner World**

Ken no Dorobo stood on one of the tallest buildings in the nighttime city. It was quiet like it always was, just the way the Zanpakuto liked it. There were people and animals in this city, but they were only objects in this world; robotic automatons that had no soul or emotions that could be shut off just like any machine.

Silence was music to Ken no Dorobo. He never responded well to his music being disrupted, but now that there were two other spirits sharing this dimension with him, he had to adapt.

"That King of yours is something else. He is not nearly as strong and my King, but he has spirit." Zangetsu chuckled darkly as he materialized behind the cloaked figure.

"What do you think you are doing?" Ken No Dorobo growled.

"I thought I would have a little chat and enjoy the scenery." Zangetsu replied snidely.

"You could never appreciate the sound of silence." Ken no Dorobo replied before he turned back to the city.

"Oh and I wanted to see the war that is about to happen." the Hollow smirked.

"You know, you are doing a fine job training the child. However, he seems like he is resisting your attempts to take him over." a new voice spoke.

"You again. I thought that I sealed you away for good."

"Ever since you allowed Elijah to use a part of my power, I have been able to manifest." the feminine voice spoke softly.

A woman stepped forward from the shadows of the rooftop. She was beautiful to the eyes with soft, light skin, long, dark red hair, soft blue eyes, two small breast. She wore a long red kimono that covered her feet. The kimono itself had the outline of a European style dragon embroidered on it in gold stitching. The dragon covered the top left of her kimono and reached the bottom right.

"You have been nothing but a nuisance to me."

"I have been the nuisance? I would say that you have been the nuisance. You are an intruder in this world. In fact, you have changed this world for your own benefit."

"You were a weakling. I came to make _my_ master great!" Ken no Dorobo shouted. A second later, he lowered his voice. "Something you could never do."

"I never had the chance. The moment his seal was weakened by death's gates, the moment you struck." the woman replied, raising her sweet voice. "You give him strength, by stealing from others. My powers would have at least been genuine."

"Leave, before I kill you and make you disappear forever!" Ken no Dorobo yelled furiously. He held out his hand and the sword version of himself materialized. The woman's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You and I both know that you can't kill me, the deception would fall apart if Master Elijah, were to suddenly lose his Shinigami abilities."

Ken no Dorobo growled as he dispelled the blade in his hand. He turned away and stared into the dark and empty city.

"Begone, witch!" he roared. The woman turned and retreated into the darkness.

"I guess I'll be going as well since the show is over." Zangetsu said with a cackle.

"I will kill that harlot." Ken no Dorobo muttered. "I'd also like to dispose of that Hollow. Unfortunately, Elijah seems to be attached to it as well, seeing as he has yet to switch out Zangetsu for the other Zanpakuto he has stored. I will just have to bide my time for now."

Ken no Dorobo thought for a few minutes about Joka-yo Kaen before he began to chuckle. "She seemed to have become a bother when Elijah first used the fraction of her power that I allowed to escape. I will just have to find a way to make sure Elijah will not call on her abilities anymore."

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I hope that y'all enjoyed the chapter! I was happy with how this one turned out. If you have anything to say be sure to leave a review or pm me! if you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is Shieldliger001 signing off!


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, it's been a while, but I am back with another chapter! Just want to thank y'all for following the story and I hope y'all enjoy the chapter! Now, on to the reviews!

Ramon: I like to answer the reviews because I feel like it allows me to keep in touch with the readers. Thanks for the support and I hope you like this chapter!

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 **Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.**

 **Pele**

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 **Chapter 11**

 **Christa's POV**

The place that I moved into was barely more than a shack. In fact, I felt repulsed just by looking at it. Mr. Fujikawa really went all out on trying to make my life miserable. It was a one room hut that had chair, a futon, a very small stove, a very small fridge, and a sink all within fifteen feet of each other. There was a single door that led to a bathroom. I sighed and placed my belongs on the worn down chair.

"Do you like your accommodations?" Mr. Fujikawa asked sarcastically.

"They will be fine." I replied, hoping that my voice didn't show too much annoyance.

"Good," Mr. Fujikawa said before he turned toward the door. "Leave your belongings and follow me."

"Yes sir." I said quickly.

I followed Mr. Fujikawa outside. The shack was surrounded by a small woods. Mr. Fujikawa, walked into the forest and disappeared. I followed after him and quickly saw him again. He was about ten feet ahead. I jogged up next to him and waited for him to speak.

"Through these trees is a small lake. That is where we will train." Mr. Fujikawa spoke.

He stepped through the brush and disappeared again. I followed after and emerged at the lake. Unless you knew where the lake was, you would have missed it as trees crowded the shores all around it.

"It's very pretty." I murmured as I watched the sparkling blue water.

"That it is." Fujikawa said as he stepped toward the lake's small shore. He then did something surprising, it took a step into the water, or, more accurately, stepped onto the water's surface. "Your first task is to stand here; in the middle of the lake. You have until this time tomorrow."

"You can't be serious!" I cried. "You want me to walk on water?"

"Yes," Fujikawa replied tersely as he walked toward the woods. "You have until tomorrow. Though I doubt you will figure it out. After all, you are weak, just like your bow."

"How do I even start?" I asked seeing that the man would not change his mind.

"Concentration, hard work, and a lot of splashing." Fujikawa replied before he disappeared into the woods.

"Great, I have to learn to stand on water. That's just brilliant." I grumbled as I looked out at the crystal blue lake.

With a small sigh, I pulled off my shoes and socks. I was feeling a bit melancholy as I approached the shore. At least Ryuken had given me some not quite impossible goals.

By now I was standing in ankle deep water and very upset. My mind was reeling with from my task. I had no idea how to even begin.

Eventually, I decided to give it a shot. I waded a little deeper into the water. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind.

"This is impossible!" I shouted angrily, throwing my arms in the air.

My outburst was met with silence. I walked back to the shore and sat down. I gazed over the blue waters and watched with fascination. Everything was so silent, so peaceful, that it was easy to forget about the world's problems. I took advantage of that silence, that serenity, and calmed myself down. I took a deep breath and stood up. I walked quietly into the lake.

I couldn't do it. I spent twelve hours trying to do what was impossible. The sun was coming up in the east, and I was cold, wet, and hungry, but I hadn't given up. I stayed outside the entire night, trying to cause something to change. Unfortunately, I was completely defeated.

"You still cannot walk on the water." Mr. Fujikawa stated. I turned around quickly to see the man standing neatly on the water, not causing so much as a ripple.

"Mr. Fujikawa! Please sir, give me another chance! I can figure it out! Don't send me home!" I cried as tears streamed down my face.

"Do not worry. I am not sending you home. I knew you would not be able to accomplish the task."

"What?"

"I acted as I did to try and discourage you. That is how I have always begun my training." Fujikawa replied. "The test wasn't to see if you could stand on the water; it was to see if you would keep trying despite the impossibility."

"So I passed?" I asked.

"You pass for now. Now, go back to the house. You need to rest up. Your real training begins here at noon tomorrow." Fujikawa said before he walked back into the woods.

I collapsed onto my knees and continued to cry. I didn't care that I was still in the shallow water of the lake. I just needed to get my nerves back together.

"I can't cry anymore." I murmured.

I stood up and headed back to the house. I wiped my tears away and willed myself to disappear into the woods, leaving the beautiful lake behind me.

After I got back, I quickly took a shower and got something to eat. After eating, I collapsed onto the futon and fell asleep. I slept for pretty much the entire day, only waking to use the restroom and to eat some dinner. Somehow, the entire night slipped away, and the sun once again poked its rays through the old curtains.

I got up, feeling very groggy. It was Sunday now, and it was also the beginning of my real training. I was slightly nervous, but my promise to myself came ringing back. I quickly pushed away my nervousness and got ready to leave.

I quickly trudged back to the lake as soon as I was ready. It was still clear and beautiful, but it had a single change. Mr. Fujikawa was sitting inside a small row boat, that was facing the opposite shore.

"Mr. Fujikawa!" I yelled as I began to wade out to the boat.

"Christa." Fujikawa acknowledged with a nod.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"It takes time and experience to become a Quincy. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of time. This will not be some kind of magical training. The fact that it will be much more difficult for the mind, body, and soul than what Ryuken has put you through." Fujikawa explained.

"So what is it?"

"Yourself."

"Huh?"

Without further explanation, Fujikawa began to row the boat toward me. Once he was close enough, Fujikawa thrust his hand straight at me. A light blue light flared as his hand sank into my very soul. I blanked out for a few seconds and when I came to, I was being helped up to my feet.

"Thanks Mr. Fujikawa, I don't know what happened."

"I ain't that old man!" a strangely familiar voice said irately.

A girl that looked exactly like me said as she let go of me causing me to fall back to the ground. As my shock died down, I began to notice slight differences. She seemed to be more of a mirror than a carbon copy as she was gesturing the way I did with her left hand instead of her right. A scar I had on my right ankle had appeared on her left.

"The technique I just used is called Seelenspiegel. It is an advanced Quincy technique that brings out the targets deepest emotions and manifests them. This technique is mostly used as a training method as it has no real use in combat." Fujikawa explained.

"The old man over there pulled me out so that I could beat some sense into ya. Hope yer ready for a world of hurt!" my doppelganger said with a wicked smirk.

"In a way she is right. She will be allowed to do whatever she wants except for killing you. This training will be just as much of a psychological trial as a physical trial. Your task is to defeat her. You may take as long as you need to complete this trial. You may also use any technique you possess to defeat her."

"Hurry up and get out of here, ya old fart. This is between me and the princess!"

Before I could blink my Doppelganger fired a large reishi arrow at me. I dived to the side and watched the arrow collide with the ground. It left a six foot wide and a six foot deep crater. My eyes widened as I realized that she really was trying to kill me.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Stick-Up-the-Ass forgot to mention another side effect of the Seelenspiegel. When I kill you, I become the main personality. Meaning that I get to be you." Doppel, as I began to call her, smirked.

"It won't happen!" I yelled as I leaped to my feet and summoned my bow.

Doppel raised her bow and snapped off three quick arrows. They were low in power and acted like a distraction. They threw up dirt and made a screen that I couldn't see through. I immediately ducked as I heard familiar whoosh filled the air. A dark, almost black, purple arrow soared past a second later. If I hadn't of ducked it would have taken off my head.

"Nice. Now, can you handle this?" Doppel's mocking voice came.

A series of arrows, both large and small, came flying through the air, destroying what was left of the smoke screen. I rolled out of the way only to have the wave of arrows follow me. As I recovered from the roll, I snapped off a few shots of my own. They collided with the incoming arrows causing a small explosion. It bought me several needed seconds to get moving.

"You're better than I thought." Doppel called as she continued to fire arrows.

"Guess that you aren't as good as you say you are." I shot back.

"Don't let it get to yer head. You'll tire out. I can go on for an eternity!" she yelled back as she dashed through her very own reign of arrows.

She easily reached the same speed as the arrows and threw out her hands. She snatched two large arrows out of the air and came diving at me. She slashed at me with two overhead strikes. I threw up my hands in a futile attempt to block the blows. The two arrows swung downward. One of them became caught on my still materialized bow. The other created a long gash down my chest.

"Yer pretty good, but you still think inside a tiny box. That's why you won't win." Doppel whispered into my ear. "Now, you just go to sleep."

Just as soon as the blackness enveloped me, it had disappeared. I was seeing the lake once again and the devastation we had caused with our battle.

" _I'm ok?"_ I thought. _"Wait, why can't I move? What's happening?"_

" _You lost. Since you lost you are no longer in control."_ a foreign thought appeared. _"_ _Now, you won't be able to see any of this."_

Just as the thought said, the world disappeared. It was replaced by a gigantic, stone cathedral that had to be at least twenty stories high.

"What is this place?" I asked out loud.

"This is the Archive." a childish voice replied happily.

"Elijah?" I asked as I spun around.

"Yep!" the child version of my brother replied with a large grin.

"What is all of this?"

"It's the Archive! It is basically a library. You have to go inside to learn more." Elijah said as he grabbed my hand and led me inside.

The inside was just as big as the outside. The titanic room was filled with oak bookcases that reached at least fifteen feet. There were five balconies on the outskirts of the walls. Each balcony housed a large number of bookshelves. The main feature that caught my eye was a large, round desk. Behind the desk sat an old woman.

"Good morning child," the woman whispered. She reached up and pulled off a pair of ancient glasses.

"Who are you?" I asked timidly.

The woman chuckled lightly. "I am the curator of this library. I am Em T. Dafee. You may call me Em, if you would like."

"I'm Christa." I replied.

The woman chuckled again. "I already knew that deary. This place is inside of your soul after all."

"So, why am I here?"

"You are here because you lost to your opposite. From here on, she is in control and you are trapped here." Em said. She stopped for a moment to let that bit sink in. "I know what you are thinking, and yes, there is a way for you to regain control. But it will take some time. How long it will take, is completely up to you."

I was able to let out a breathe. "How do I start?"

"As you can see, this place is filled to the brim with books. Each book contains a technique that the Quincy have created. You must find the book that cancel the Seelenspiegel."

"This place is gigantic! How am I supposed to find a single book out of all of these?" I asked as I swept my arms around to emphasis my point.

"You do not have to read every book." the woman replied with a chuckle. "This library has a level system. There are five levels, with each level containing over one hundred Quincy techniques that can be mastered. In order to pass to the next level, you must master two of those techniques, then pass a test. Choose wisely, you will only be allowed to learn two techniques from each level."

"Where do I start?" I asked.

"One of the most useful level one skills is right over here." Em said as she led me to a bookshelf close to her desk. She quickly scanned the shelf, grabbed a bright red book, and handed it to me.

I held the book up to the light to get a better look. It was just a plain, red book with gold letters. The one odd bit was that the title read nothing but gibberish. I opened the book only to be greeted with empty pages.

"There isn't anything in it, and the title isn't even English." I muttered.

"You didn't think it would be easy did you? You must first figure out what the technique is called first. You are a smart girl. You will figure it out. Just be sure not to get yourself too mixed up." Em smiled.

Em walked back toward her desk and sat down where she picked up her book and began reading. Following her idea, I took the book to a table and sat down. There was a sheet of paper and a pencil on the table with which I wrote down the title: Gynfli sencre pste.

"This is nuts!" I said as I stared at the paper.

It felt like hours since I sat down and began staring at the paper. Puzzles had never been my thing, and I hated it when I was given puzzle assignments at school.

"You really suck at this!" a childlike voice commented as I banged my head against the table. "And this is an easy one too."

"Shut up, Elijah," I seethed. "I have been here for four hours and I am not in the mood."

"It's been five minutes." Elijah deadpanned. I turned and stared at him in disbelief.

"Elijah, what are you wearing?" I asked as I noticed that he wasn't in his jeans and t-shirt anymore.

"This is my shihakusho. I _am_ a Soul Reaper after all." he replied.

"So, why did you suddenly change clothes?"

"I thought we could have a sparring match outside."

"I can't. I have to figure this out." I replied.

"Ok, I guess we don't have to. Too bad. If you had won, I would have told you how to figure out the puzzle. Oh well." Elijah replied as he jumped off the chair and began walking off.

"Elijah! Wait!" I yelled, chasing after him.

 **Doppel's POV**

"It's done, I take it." Fujikawa spoke.

"Ya had to ask?" I replied snidely.

"Remember, you are only a manifestation of her darker attributes. Do as you are told or I will undo the Seelenspiegel myself."

I leered at the man for a minute before throwing my head back to laugh. "My my, aren't you the forceful one. You don't have to worry. I wouldn't dream of screwing up this opportunity."

"See that you don't." Fujikawa spoke. He then reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Your training regiment. Just because you are in control does not mean that you will not have responsibilities." Fujikawa replied as a smirk began to tug at the corner his lips.

"What the hell? School begins at six in the morning? Training after school at three? You want me to pretend to be that weakling?"

"Exactly. We wouldn't want you to become truant. Also, you know as well as I do that her body will not hold up to the battles approaching. If she is to have a chance at success, you must physically train while she must learn."

"Here I thought that I would be allowed to have some time for myself. I should have figured that this would a drag." I replied.

"You are merely a manifestation. Nothing more."

"Yeah, I got that." I replied stiffly.

 **Christa's POV**

"Now what?" I asked.

"Now we fight. You can have the first move if you like?" Elijah said as he pulled out his Zanpakuto and got into a fighting stance.

I immediately leapt forward and began shooting arrows. My instant action shocked Elijah, making him react slowly to the three shots I had taken. When he snapped too, he masterfully sliced through the arrows. The six halves continued to fly pass Elijah before exploding in the air.

"That was close." Elijah stated.

He raised his blade and ran at me. I drew my bow and began to launch a barrage of arrows. He weaved through the field of arrows with almost feline grace. He closed the gap between us in just a few seconds. He ducked underneath me and made for a quick slash at my chest. With no conscious thought, I dissipated my bow and moved my hand and reconstituted the reishi weapon. I was barely fast enough as Elijah's Zanpakuto cut deeply into the bow.

"Not bad. You're getting the hang of this." Elijah stated.

Elijah continued his string of attacks. His sword hacking away my bow little by little. I was holding as much as I could, but I was quickly being worn down. I had just blocked an overhead swing and locked it with my bow. As we struggled to push each other back, I had an idea. I reached up and began to draw an arrow. Once I released it, it exploded, sending out smoke and light. I felt Elijah reel back, causing me to sigh in relief.

Though my plan worked, it also affected me. I couldn't see anything within two feet of me. In an effort to keep Elijah on his toes, I began to run where he was last at.

"Stupid, Christa. That was really stupid." Elijah's voice rang out as I felt the hilt of his Zanpakuto crash into my back, knocking me to the ground.

"H-how did you get behind me?"

"I used a technique called Shunpo, or Flash Step. It's a nifty Soul Reaper technique, isn't it?" Elijah smiled cheekily.

"Yeah like teleporting is fair." I pouted.

"Oh, don't be like that. Besides, it's not teleporting. It's a technique based off of speed. Since I have a lot of energy and I am pretty fast to begin with, it seems like teleportation." Elijah explained.

I got back to my feet and summoned my bow. "Alright, let's keep going."

"Nope, I'm done for the day." Elijah said as he disappeared from view. All I could do was stare with my mouth open.

 **Third Person POV**

A certain shopkeeper in a green kimono stood outside the worn down warehouse. The normally care free ex-shinigami was sullen as he walked inside.

He had to check on something. He needed to know if the Visored still had the boy. It was paramount to make sure that he hadn't disappeared or killed.

"Urahara. Not often that yer in these parts." Shinji called as he greeted the former captain.

"I know that this was abrupt, but I needed to speak with you." Urahara replied, his tone dripping with seriousness.

"I kinda figured this wasn't a social call." Shinji replied as he walked out from behind a crumbling pillar. "So what's up?"

"Last night, I recorded some odd spiritual activity. Aizen will be making his move soon." Urahara answered.

Shinji expression turned cold. "I see. Should I try to recruit Kurosaki?"

"Yes, his Hollow is almost fully awakened." Kisuke confirmed. "There is something else. How is Mr. Parks coming along in his training?"

"Couldn't say. He disappeared several days ago. We haven't been able to find him."

"I see. Then, they are making their move as well." Kisuke said thoughtfully.

"Who making a move?" Shinji questioned.

"Oh, its nobody! Just some people I used to be acquainted with!" the shopkeeper said quickly with a wave of his hand.

"I'm not buyin it." Shinji deadpanned.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about." Kisuke said, returning once more to his doom and gloom attitude. "Focus on Kurosaki. He needs to be ready for the coming war."

"One more thing, I heard that Elijah had a sister. Will she be any help?"

"When I fought her, I could tell that she had a lot of potential. However, she is too fresh. She makes too many mistakes to be counted on right now. I would not count her out, but I would not put any hopes on her either."

With that, Urahara left. Shinji watched the shopkeeper leave with a frown. He would have to assess Kurosaki. After all, Parks' disappearance ruined his views on first impressions.

"So, who wants to go back to school?" he said aloud. Several of the other Visored appeared as if from nowhere. "Well don't everyone speak at once."

"No one is stupid enough to volunteer for something like that ya idiot." Hiyori said indignantly.

"Come on guys, someone has to go." Shinji sighed.

"You do it, ya dumb ass!" Hiyori replied.

"It is your idea. It would only be fitting if you were the one to do it." Love added, while Rose and Kensei nodded in agreement.

Soon everyone was giving reasons why they couldn't perform such a task. Kensei, Rose, Hachi, and Love all said that they looked too old to pass as high school students. And everyone agreed that Mashiro would be a horrible choice, despite the green haired girl readily volunteering.

"So why can't you do it?" Shinji asked Lisa.

"I figured that the reason would be obvious." she replied as she returned to her 'magazine'.

"I'm drawin a blank on this one." Shinji muttered.

"I don't see why you can't do it either." Love stated.

"You guys really are morons." Lisa muttered mostly to herself. "Despite them being educational, those teachers wouldn't allow me to have my magazines."

"How are those educational?" Love blurted out.

"I find them very educational." Rose said dismissively. "They teach about anatomy."

"So she's out. What about you Hiyori? What's yer excu..." Shinji started before he was interrupted by a sandal colliding with his face.

"I just ain't gonna do it!" Hiyori shouted.

"Well then, it's settled. Shinji will be the one to scout out Kurosaki." Love said.

"Thanks everybody." muttered Shinji.

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That's it for this installment guys! Be sure to stick around for the next chapter! If y'all have anything to say, y'all know what to do! If you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys what's up? Before we start I wanted to say sorry for being so late with this. I was in the middle of moving from Texas to Iowa. I am still not quite done yet. Anyways, on to the story!

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 **Chapter 12**

 **Elijah's POV**

It had been about a month since I first arrived here. In that time, I had grown quite strong and was able to take care of Trappers and, to some extent, Vampires with relative ease. With that said, it was still best to avoid Brutes when I could, and I still hadn't even seen a Crasher or an Evolved.

According to Johann, it was going to take a lot more effort to defeat Brute's than what he showed me, and the Crashers were on a completely different level. When I asked about the Evolved, Johann only told me to never fight them. I took his word for it and promised not to ever fight an Evolved, however, I was still curious about them.

"What's so bad about the Evolved?" I asked one night.

"They are a long story. The Evolved, like the others, are survivors of the Cataclysm, but there is a difference. There are two types of Evolved. The first type are the impure. They are the ones that have started as Trappers. The impure are used primarily as shock troopers since they are seen by the others as not actual Evolved. The Pure are Evolved that have always been Evolved."

"Ok, but why are they dangerous?"

"Both the Impure and Pure possess dangerously large amounts of magic, they are monsters that have regained their human forms and minds, and each possess unique magic, but their most fearsome ability is their near perfect immortality. They never grow old, nor get sick. They can take a sword through the heart and chuckle about it."

"You said near perfect that means there is a way to defeat them, right?"

"Yes, you must continue to fatally wound them until they can no longer regenerate. The problem comes at the number of regenerations. It is different with each Evolved, but I can say that it is no less than ten times." Johann explained.

"I see. Well then, I guess that I'm just gonna have to try harder." I said with a smirk. Johann only shook his head and sighed.

The next morning, Johann woke me for our morning training session. Usually, we would head away from camp and begin hunting. That usually meant going after Trappers or a pack of Vamps.

Today, however, Johann didn't do that. Instead, he planted his staff firmly into the ground, closed his eyes, and began to recite a spell. The runes on the staff glowed brightly for several seconds before the entire forest glowed.

"Barrier of the Colosseum!"

I shielded my eyes from the brightness and stopped when it died down. The barrier spell was different from his past spells. This one seemed to change the entire area into a perfect replica of the Roman Colosseum.

"I visited this place long ago. The legends of the gladiator fights and the rich history of the Romans enchanted me when I was young. I devised this spell because of that infatuation. It is the perfect spell for training young warriors." Johann whispered almost reverently. "Grab your swords, I will be your opponent. You may use any ability in your arsenal be it Shinigami or mage."

"I was wondering when I was going to fight you. This is going to be great!" I shouted with glee.

Johann allowed a thin smile to grace his lips before he threw his gray fur cloak to the ground. In a motion that should have been impossible, he flung his staff forward.

"Rune Style: Tornadic Storm!"

Five of the engraved runes glowed darkly as a sheet of clouds appeared overhead. Lightning flared and blitzed from the sudden clouds. None of the bolts of lightning hit near me, but their complete randomness made me nervous.

"If that is your move, then here's mine!" I shouted as I ran forward with both Ken no Dorobo and Zangetsu firmly in my grasp.

I lifted Zangetsu above my head as I leapt high into the air. At the same time, I threw Ken no Dorobo at Johann. Johann easily deflected the Bowie knife away, using his staff. I grabbed Zangetsu's hilt with my now free hand ready to slice the staff in half.

"How pitiful." Johann muttered.

Instead of blocking with his staff, he pointed it directly at me. The wind suddenly increased. It quickly reached speeds equivalent to a hurricane's. Despite still being ten feet in the air, gravity seemed to reverse course.

"Whoa!" I yelled as I looked up.

The cause of my sudden reverse was a small funnel cloud that was traveling to the ground. I sucked me deeper into the center giving me no chance to escape. The newly formed tornado lifted me all the way into the sky before it sent me rocketing to the ground. I could feel a couple of ribs crack from the impact.

'I'm going to feel that in the morning.' I thought as I fought to keep a cry of pain from escaping.

"I thought you had more in you, Elijah. Where is all of that determination that you showed with that Brute?" Johann scoffed.

I gritted my teeth in irritation. The tornado danced around Johann as if it were an obedient dog. I quickly leapt to my feet grabbed Zangetsu with both hands. I concentrated nearly all of my reishi into the blade.

"If I can't get close to you then I'll just have to hit you from far away!" I yelled as I continued to pour energy into the sword. "Getsuga Tensho!"

A purple and black wave of high density spiritual pressure released from the sword, and blasted toward Johann. With a quick motion Johann flicked his staff forward. The tornado, like a brain washed slave, leapt in front of the incoming attack. The swirling winds and the spiritual attack collided and for a moment the tornado went from gray to black and purple. A split second later and both attacks disintegrated into nothing.

"An impressive display, however, it doesn't have near the strength that the original should possess. Also, you used up a lot of your strength in that single attack. It has barely been two minutes and you are ready to collapse." Johann lectured.

"You could say that I get a little overzealous at times." I smirked.

"Overzealousness can be extremely dangerous." Johann reprimanded.

I only smiled as I sprung forward. "So is being unpredictable!"

I focused on Zangetsu as I ran. Instead of pouring reishi into the sword, I was pulling it out. As I felt my strength begin to return, the sword shrank into something that resembled a ball of clay. I then focused on the clay pouring reishi back into it.

"Tell me. Is that lump of clay your Zanpakuto's true form?" Johann asked with a hint of surprise.

"Yep, just learned that from Ken no Dorobo yesterday. Turns out that I can mold this into any weapon I think of, but the only way for it to have any abilities is for it to be a copy of another Zanpakuto! Blow it Away, Tachikaze!" I shouted as the clay molded into the familiar combat style knife.

"So you did have another Shikai to steal. I hope you can make this interesting." Johann said with bloodlust, something he had yet to show me. "Rune Style: Tornadic Blast!"

Johann held his staff up toward the sky. The runes flared to life as a funnel cloud reached down to meet it. The winds roared and whipped around the staff, but it didn't break it. Johann, with one hand, pulled the staff behind him before flinging it forward. The tornado released in the same manner as a slingshot.

I yelled furiously as the horizontal funnel came roaring at me. In what almost seemed like a desperate manner, I began slashing the air with Tachikaze.

"Air Blades!" I shouted as I launched five separate blades of air.

The blades raced forward, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. It didn't take long before the blades collided with the funnel. There was a horrible roar as the two attacks tore at each other. Then, there was a large explosion of air, that flung up dirt and stone alike.

Before the dust could clear, I charged into the thick of it. I poured a sizable amount of my magic into my fists. A second later my outstretched arms began glowing black with an outline of white.

"Eclipse Seed: Blast!" I shouted.

A black and white beam shout forward, clearing the dust cloud directly in front of it, though not for long. Another second past and a second explosion shook the arena.

"Did you really think that I would just stay in one spot?" Johann asked. "Rune Style: Blinding Flash!"

Johann seemed to smirk at my shock expression as golden light released from his staff. Covering my eyes had no effect on the spell as it still robbed me of my sight. I stumbled for a few steps, while I rubbed my eyes.

"Would you like to give up yet?" Johann asked.

"Not quite, I still have an ace up my sleeve! Eclipse Seed Flash!"

I felt my body become incorporeal. It was a strange feeling. I felt like I was outside of my own body. Not like being a Soul Reaper, but more like being a true ghost. I was there but I wasn't at the same time. I wasn't breathing and I didn't have a heart beat, yet I felt alive. I could feel the ground underneath me, yet I also felt as though I wasn't touching that either. I was nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Somehow, this light felt off. It felt sickly, almost as if it were dying. Unfortunately, I couldn't contemplate it for my consciousness was flooded with so much new information that I nearly forgot what I was doing. The sudden remembrance forced me to clear my mind and get back on task. Being the light itself, I could sense disturbances in the light. Trees absorbing the light, boulders obstructing it, I could feel it all. I could also feel several human sized objects obstructing my path as the light. The first one was close, though I couldn't tell how close. The other two were farther away. With one thought in mind, I raced at the closest object. I knew he couldn't be far away, and the other two objects seemed like they must have been at least on the other side of the Colosseum. The object came up so fast that I nearly missed the exit point. When I was halfway corporeal, I began wrapping my fists with the solar light around me.

"Eclipse Seed Shimmering Fist!" I yelled as I punched at what I thought was Johann. Instead of skin on skin contact, my fist crashed through a larger boulder. It shattered on impact, leaving nothing but shards, and bruises on right hand. I was pretty sure I had broken every bone in my hand, though I didn't feel much because of the adrenaline in my system. "Come on! I could have sworn that was him!"

"You have much to learn, boy. You attempted a spell that you have never used before, and you overshot your target." Johann's voice rang with an echo.

I turned around and realized that I had indeed overshot Johann. He was on the other side of the Colosseum. It then dawned on me that I had smashed one of the far away boulders that I had discounted.

"I'm just going to have to try again! Eclipse Seed Flash!"

I disappeared before Johann could speak. I quickly sought him out then began my attack. I was going to exit when I was right by him, then hit him with an Eclipse Seed Shimmering Fist. Somehow, my plan backfired. I was suddenly and roughly ejected from the light leaving me face down in the dirt.

"You have much to learn." Johann sighed as he shook his head.

"What went wrong?" I muttered weakly as I felt the life leave my body.

"Two things really. The first was that you reached your limit in magic use. The second is that you tried to enter a place where the light could not go." Johann replied while pointing at his shadow. "Since you used your spell while standing still, you fell when you exited. If you had started with a run you may have been able to land a hit. Though, I doubt it would have done you much good seeing as you used up all of your magic power."  
"How many spells was I able to use at one time?" I mumbled.

"If I remember right, you used your magic five times."

"Five times? That's it? I'm such a loser." I said in defeat.

"You did well. You used a Getsuga, transformed your Zanpakuto, used its new technique, then used three different spells. We will just need to work on increasing your magic capacity and your spiritual pressure. You are special, boy. I must confess that you have impressed me today."

"Thanks Johann," I muttered. "Just you wait. I will beat you."

Johann's eyes flashed sadly for a second. "I believe that you will be my successor one day."

 **Third Person POV**

Somewhere in the recesses of the world now known as Purgatory sat a castle. In a past life, it was a splendor of its own with high towers, perfectly sculpted ramparts, and majestic gardens. Now it is a rotting hulk. A husk of what it once was. Despite its disrepair, there are still some that called it home.

The throne room was once the heart and soul of the castle. The king in those days was a kind and just man. He ruled with love rather than fear and the people adored him. Now the throne room holds nothing but emptiness and sorrow. That king no longer sits on the thrown. In his place is another man, a usurper, the harbinger of the end.

Calling the harbinger a man is merely a formality, for he is not a man. No, he is known only as the King. Though he is a king of thieves, he is a king nonetheless.

Again the word man is only a formality. To be a man would mean that you were a mortal. Someone who toiled in the fields until he would rejoin the soil from which he came. No, the King is not a man, for he had shed his mortality. He is not a man. He has transcended mankind. He is the Evolved, and now he has set his sights on a certain teacher and student.

"Your Highness, we have located Johann of Minatix." an Evolved servant shouted as he rushed into the throne room.

The King was sitting on a crumbling stone throne. He radiated an air of arrogance and also sported a sense of superiority. Of the subjects in the room, only he seemed to be taken care of. His shoulder length, golden hair was well kept, with not a single hair out of place. His chiseled face had not a single cut or blemish. His thin, pointed nose, sat perfectly between his proud blue eyes. The king stood up, showing off his impressive height of six feet five inches.

"Servant, how many times have I said not to enter without invitation?" the king asked slowly, anger beginning to seep into his proud eyes.

"I apologize my liege, but this couldn't..."

"Silence!" the king roared as blue pillar of fire engulfed the upper half of the servant.

The servant screamed in agony as the flames lapped up his flesh and blood. The servant, however, didn't die. Instead, the flames dissipated, leaving behind a man who was nearly bone himself.

"Now that you have ruined my day, what is it you want to tell me?"

"Johann of Minatix, Sire. We have found him… and his student." the charred skeleton of a man uttered hoarsely.

"I see. Do you have confirmation of this?"

A blackened, bony hand reached down to the floor, placing what looked to be a marble. It glowed brightly before a hologram showed an image of Johann and Elijah sitting in the forest inside of a very large barrier. The evil king smiled as the image played out.

"Captain Druclurs take your Forsaken Flock and bring both of them to me. I want to deal with them personally." the King ordered.

"As you wish my liege." another man replied with a bow.

The man, Derts Druclurs, was a large, brawny man who easily reached seven feet tall when standing up. He had tanned skin, chocolate brown eyes and hair. His thick arms and legs made him the strongest man in raw power. He was also extremely intelligent, despite the fact that his looks made him seem like a meathead.

"Your Highness, you are letting him retrieve Johann of Minatix?" a woman jealously asked.

The woman, Zenmin Ghost, was exactly like her name implied. She was a slender woman dressed in a dark cloak. She was average height, but that did nothing to take away from dangerous air the woman gave off. Not much of her face could be seen from within the cloak except for her mouth. The fact is that no one had seen her full face, not even the King. The venomous words came off her tongue and out of her full, blood red lips before she was able to stop them.

"Is there a problem with my decision, Captain Ghost?" the King asked as he released icy stares at the Captain of the Ghost Blades.

"I apologize my liege. I spoke out of turn." Zenmin Ghost replied with a bow.

"Forgiven," the King replied sarcastically. "I have come up with a wonderful idea. Since there is so much angst about who retrieves Johann of Minatix. Captain Ghost, you and Captain Druclurs may battle for the right to go on this mission."

"That is a wonderful idea, your Highness!" a third man said while clapping his hands.

This man, Zux Morilt, was the Captain of the King's personal guard, the Judgment Council. He was slightly shorter than the King, standing at about six feet two inches. Though he was tall, he was also gangling, looking similar to the dying trees that populated the forest. He was bald with not a single bit of facial hair. His pointed nose and chin gave, those around him the impression of a rat. His thick glasses, which blocked his eyes, didn't help with his appearance.

"I am glad you approve Captain Morilt." the King snorted. "You may begin whenever you like."

"With pleasure my liege." Ghost said as she faded from existence, initiating the contest.

Druclurs was suddenly thrown to the ground with enough force to crack the stone floor. The man grunted as he easily picked himself up.

"You always do that. If you are going to defeat me, you will need to change your strategy." Druclurs stated as he rotated his right arm, as if to loosen up the muscles.

"You fall for it every time." Zenmin replied as she reappeared in front of Druclurs.

"I allow it every time." Druclurs clarified.

Druclurs finished his his arm rotations and got into a standard boxing stance. Light green light began to flow all over his body.

"Reinforce: Max Steel!"

The glowing suddenly flared as the spell went into effected. Druclurs seemed as though he grew. His muscles bulged twice their original size. When the effects were completely in place, Druclurs smashed his fists together. The collisions caused several large blasts of air that damaged the surrounding stone.

"You are such a Brute." Ghost commented.

"Please, spare me the insults." Druclurs replied.

The King watched as the trial begun. He had no doubt that Druclurs would outlast Ghost. Ghost was geared for stealth and assassination. She did not have the arsenal for a direct confrontation. In a way, that was the reason she continued to try and beat the man at his own game. If she tried defeating Druclurs using her own strengths and not her weaknesses, then she would no doubt beat the Captain of the Forsaken Flock. Alas, she was determined to beat him at his own game.

"How boorish. These contests show that neither of those fools have any class. I have no doubt that I could have captured Johann of Minatix and his little pupil."

"Are you saying that you should be the one to retrieve Johann of Minatix?" the King asked.

"Sire, if it would please you, I would relish the opportunity to serve you." Morilt requested.

"If you feel like you can get away with it, than by all means do it." the King replied.

"Your will is my will, my liege." Morilt said with a bow.

The King watched as Morilt backed away from the throne, and retreated through one of the many side doors in the throne room. The King knew that Morilt was a rat, always trying to gain favor with him. He knew that it should infuriate him, however, he found the man to be rather entertaining. He knew that Druclurs and Ghost with be rather disappointed, however that was their own damn fault. The King was just going to sit back and enjoy the show.

 **Elijah's POV**

'This really sucks." I thought as Johann wrapped more bandages around my right arm.

When I had hit that rock it nearly broke my hand, and caused a fracture in my arm. Johann went on and on about how fragile my body was and that he would have to fix that. The way he talked scared me as it seemed that he was going to make me punch boulders and the likes before the day was out. Fortunately for me, he only told me to rest.

That night was restless. I stirred more often due to my injuries, which caused them to ache even more. After a couple of hours, I gave up and decided to talk with Johann.

I had found that Johann made an excellent conversationalist. I learned more from our talks than our training sessions. We would talk about ways for more me to improve and about the Soul Society. However, his favorite topic was history, and how he was able to watch it. From feudal Japan to the formation of the United States, he had seen it all.

As I made a motion to sit up, I felt myself being restrained. Suddenly golden rings appeared all over my body as did a golden plate.

'I have restrained you so you would not irritate your wounds too much. Do not struggle; struggling will only cause you more harm than necessary.' the plate read before it dispelled.

"Johann, you bastard!" I yelled angrily.

 **Third Person's POV**

Johann sat on a large boulder in the dark within a cloak of mist. Ever since the sparring match, he had felt the presence of another magic user. It was weak, probably only a Crasher or a second rate Evolved, but it was enough to make Johann hide Elijah.

Johann knew using his Barrier of the Colosseum spell be a huge risk. The spell used enough magic to light up an entire city, but he had to risk it.

Despite what Elijah thought, Johann knew that he had plateaued. The boy took on Vampires, Trappers, and even Brutes with ease. But, he would never be able to defeat the more agile Crasher. Even the weakest of Crashers was ten to fifteen times more powerful than a Brute.

Hence the Barrier of the Colosseum. It allowed Elijah to train with a more powerful opponent without drawing the wild enemies to them. The King would be able to detect it and send out his legions to squash them, Johann knew. The King, however, needed time to deploy his troops. With his three captains always fighting for the right to lead in his capture, he was certain to get away.

That was why he was worried about feeling another's presences. It meant that the King was actively searching for him, meaning he would have to stall whoever showed up long enough for him to relocate.

"Well, well, well, Johann of Minatix standing in the woods all by himself. How has Purgatory been treating you lately?" a voice called out.

"So, he sent the rat." Johann stated.

"More like I took advantage of some in-house bickering." Morilt spoke with a sly smile.

"It does not matter who the messenger is." Johann said indifferently.

"Messenger? You have a message for the King? Well, this is new." Morilt said with genuine surprise.

"Yes, tell the King; in two months time, I will be there to dethrone him. Count yours days, for I will end his reign."

"And if I refuse to tell him that?" Morilt asked out of shock.

"It will not matter. In fact, it would be better for me if you didn't tell him." Johann replied with a smirk that left Morilt feeling unnerved.

* * *

As usual, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If y'all have anything to say, be sure to leave a review or PM me. If you are enjoying the story, be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!


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